The Black Eagle: A Talon of Blood
by Twin Shadows6
Summary: Mivryna Faryon has always stood out. But when tradegy strikes, she soon finds herself in the frozen homeland of the Nords. Now hunted by a shadowy group of killers, Mivryna must now learn how to survive on her own, and hope that the secrets surrounding her don't destroy her and all she loves.
1. Chapter 1: A Dark Path

**_Hey TwinShadows6 with my first story. I'll try to come out with new chapters soon, but don't get your hopes up. Please point out any spelling and grammar mistakes and any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Also, please be polite in your reviews. I don't want any online arguments or insults on my page and I will have no tolerance for rude remarks and will not listen to your reviews if you are rude to me. The first chapter is mostly an introduction but I'll try to make it more exciting in later chapters._**

The moment I was out of the manor, I full-on sprinted straight to the woods. I never looked back, even though my parents called after me and didn't even bother to try to lose them as they could never catch me. Not when I was five, not now, not ever. I soon neared the line of abandoned houses that border Cheydinhal. I knew next to nothing of about them, only that a few dated back to the Third Era at least and they had been abandoned even then. But then again, they were stories of ghosts and people going in and never coming out. I'd been around them for most of my life and last I checked I'm still doing fine.

As I finally made it to the woods, I ran until I found a huge oak and climbed up as far as I could go and hid in its leafy branches. From there, I saw my parents pass by below, calling for me to come out, but to no avail. Once they left, I let my thoughts take me.

It had been when my father was running his stall in the market that the Altmeri advisor (Thalmor ambassadors who 'advised' each Count and Countess but actually just made sure their stupid White-Gold Concordant peace treaty was upheld) Edwendir and his wife Cecilia had come up to him. My family had never been on good terms with them and it was even worse that they had taken an interest in me. Or rather their son Malcolm. Even for an Altmer he was handsome. Blond hair, nice golden skin, brown eyes, and also quite tall, which is saying something for High Elves. But unlike every other girl in town, I saw past his looks and could see his snobby, brat-like attitude. He grew up with everything given to him and because of that, anything he wanted, he expected to have it and to not have to ask or be asked twice. And what he wanted now was me. When the s'wit had suddenly become head-over-heels for me is a mystery, but as soon as he started to become an adult, he swore that I would be his. Which is why his parents invited my parents and me over to dinner. Knowing that turning them down could cause big trouble for us, we accepted. But I knew they wanted something. And I had been right. They offered to keep my family supported for the rest of their lives (which for a struggling family in Cyrodiil is something you don't turn down likely) if I agreed to marry Malcolm. Luckily I had warned them beforehand about Malcolm and so my parents kindly rejected the offer. They even went on to say that I already had an application to the College of Winterhold in Skyrim that was due any day. And naturally, the two Altmer never liked someone not doing what they wanted so soon there was a rather heated argument on how an Altmer-Dunmer hybrid such as myself should be grateful that their son even considered my hand at all. Eventually I got up from the ornate dining table and yelled, "Enough! I told Malcolm a thousand times that I won't marry him and nothing is going to change my mind." And with that I had stormed out of their overly furnished manor and out into the night.

Pulling myself out of memory lane and into the present, I looked down to see that my parents had left, probably to go back to the house and wait for me to come home. I knew that I they would stay up for me, so I climbed down and started to head back toward the city lights that shown faintly between the trees. Soon I was at the doorstep to the small little cottage that I called home. I put my hands on the knob and was about to turn it when I heard the rustling of bushes not far away. I turned into the night but to find nothing there. _Probably just scared a rabbit. Don't be so paranoid,_ my mind thought as I turned and opened the door. Before I was even halfway in the door, strong hands pulled me in and closed the door behind me.

"Mivryna! Where have you been? Never mind, at least you're home. Your father and I've been worried sick! And don't even get me started on how much trouble you're in." My mother looked at me, lime green eyes narrowed and arms crossed. I looked around the room, as if searching for an answer. Of course, nothing in our one room house ever helped. I sat on the side of mother and father's bed and waited for the long tirade that every parent gives their child when they come home way past curfew. But instead my mother signed. "You know that wasn't the best way to handle the situation. Yelling at the advisor and his wife and storming off like a child is not going to help anything. In fact you could have made it worse." My mother sat down at the table, rubbing her eyes from the stress of a hard day.

But I couldn't hold back what I wanted to say since I left the stupid manor. "What was I supposed to do? They acted like I wasn't even there, like I couldn't hear what they were saying! And even worse, they treat me no better than a piece of property! You heard them! They were bargaining for Malcolm to marry me like a horse at an auction! How was I supposed to keep quiet when they treat me like that right to my face? Huh?" I knew this was the last thing that I should be doing, but I couldn't help it any longer. I was sick of the s'wits.

My mother sighed. "I know, honey, but yelling never fixed anything. If anything, it only makes it worse. You could have caused a lot more trouble if Malcolm wasn't so obsessed with you. Gods, that boy is truly in love with you, with him staring at you all during dinner, trying to get your attention. And that look in his eyes," my mother shivered at the thought, "you better stay as far away from him as best as you can. That boy is nothing but trouble. Something tells me that it isn't your looks that have him attracted to you. In fact, don't go near any of the advisor's family. Who knows who that boy will use."

"Done." I said, wanting the conversation to end. I looked around and noticed what was different about the house. "Where's father?" I asked.

"Trying to calm down the advisor. At your outburst, his face turned scarlet. I hope he can prevent them from making our life worse. It's bad enough that they don't like us because a pure-bred Altmer and a Dunmer decided to marry and ruin the bloodline by having you." Guilt welled inside me. Although the Count and Countess ruled Cheydinhal, the advisor basically controlled them because of their connection to the Thalmor, which meant they could easily find dirt on you that could put in jail for a good while, even if you had nothing to hide. And the fact the Thalmor rarely listened to anyone but those higher than them (which for a high-ranking Thalmor such as the Edwendir is no one), my father could have better luck leading our mule to the river. "Was he having any luck before you left?" I asked.

Mother was spared responding by the sound of the door opening and Father walking in. He saw me and smiled. "Ah, Mivryna, there you are. I was hoping you had come home. I thought about looking for you, but I thought you might have come home already." I looked at my father, with his ash-colored skin and crimson red eyes. I obviously took after my mother.

I looked back at my mother. "So what's my punishment?"

"I was thinking about grounding you, but I think your father has been needing help at the stall. You work with your father until lunch every day for a week. Clear?"

"Clear," I said.

"Good, now go to bed, you'll need to wake up early tomorrow."

"Alright." I walked over to the other side of the room where my bed and dresser was. I pulled out my nightgown, dressed, and slipped into bed without a word. Even though it was past midnight, I couldn't sleep and kept tossing and turning. I never slept very well at night and it didn't help that a lot had gone on that day. No doubt my yelling at his parents wouldn't convince Malcolm that I would never have anything to do with him. And since I would be at the market stall all morning tomorrow, things couldn't get any worse. But little did I know that this was just the start of a long, dark path.


	2. Chapter 2: Friends and Enemies

_**Hey, I'm back with my second chapter. Hope you all liked the first and are ready for another one. Also this one is a bit longer than the last, so sorry about that. Couldn't find a way to shorten it or cut it in half so here it is. I didn't say this in the first chapter so I'm saying it now: I do not own the Elder Scrolls but Mivryna Faryon is my orginal creation. And with that, let's get on with the story.**_

_I walked through the stone corridor, wondering what had brought me here. It seemed like a maze, with doors at regular intervals that all looked the same. For some reason, I felt far from home and that I wasn't supposed to be here. But I continued on until I came to a huge iron door, much bigger and more elaborate than the others. _Something important is probably behind this door,_ I thought. _I probably shouldn't open it. Heck, I shouldn't even be here!_ But apparently this was one of those dreams where you did things that you would never do in real life as long as you had some common sense and an interest for self-preservation. Either way, I opened the door to find a huge room that was completely bare except for a strange crystal that looked like a Grand soul gem. But unlike a Grand soul gem, this thing filled up the whole room and was probably twice as tall as me. But the thing that was odd about it was that it was radiating some strange magic. And it seemed to be drawing me._

_ "So, it seems you've found my greatest creation. Do you know what it does?" said a cold, calculating voice. I turned to find the owner was a Dunmer. He wore a strange set of armor that looked like it was made of bones and he had a dark gray face and pitch-black hair with a beard that was tied by a single piece of string. He seemed odd for a Dunmer, whether it was just the armor or what, I couldn't place it. But nothing about him could help the fact that he was looking at me with a dangerous lust in his eyes, although something told me it wasn't because he wanted to bed me. No, something that, oddly enough, seemed worse. Much worse._

_ His smile was as cold as his voice. "From your puzzled look, I'd say not. Or is this the first time you've been here?" He studied me carefully. "I think not. You're different than the rest. Stronger." His grinned widened as he realized something. He extended his palm past me, toward the crystal. At first nothing changed, but then three tendrils of magic burst from the gem and immediately wrapped around my wrists and neck. I tried to scream but the tendril around my neck squeezed tightly, nearly strangling me. The Dunmer laughed as I struggled. "You won't be escaping from here, little one. Now stay put for a moment." Another tendril shot out of the crystal and it went right through me and grabbed my heart. Pain shot from my chest to the rest of my body and panic seized me as the thought of dying came into my mind._

And I woke up cold and soaking wet.

"Mivryna! Get _up_!" came the sound of my mother's voice. "Your father already left for work and you were supposed to go with him! Now get up and get dressed. You're late!"

Relief flooded me as I realized that it was only a dream. But dread replaced it as I looked up at my mother. She had her hands on her hips and a bucket in one hand. It was bad enough I came home late last night. I didn't need any more trouble at the moment. I sighed. "Sorry, mother." I said.

"Well, next time get up when I tell you to instead of going back to sleep." And with a huff, my mother turned and walked out the door before I could tell her that I'd been asleep the whole time. I got up and dressed in a simple dress and boots. After I finished brushing my hair, I looked at myself in the mirror. I definitely looked like an Altmer, with my pale golden skin, but I had my mother's lime green eyes, which were unlike the typical brown High Elves had. I was short for Altmer my age, but tall for a Dunmer, so obviously my height didn't want to choose which line to follow. I would look like any other Altmer mostly if it wasn't for my hair. It was a dark brown hair that, if a few shades darker, it would look almost black. It stood out from the normal blond or light brown that is natural for my mother's line, but perfectly natural for my father's. Of course that was to be expected when your mother is an Altmer and your father a Dunmer. The two races couldn't be any more different. I would always stick out whether I liked it or not, if not for my appearance, then for my personality. Not even my parents could argue that I was strange. I had an agility and speed that wasn't from my mother or father, could see fairly well in the dark, or at least better than everyone else, and a strange interest in the night (even to the point that I have more energy at night than during the day. No wonder I never sleep well). None of these habits came from either of my bloodlines nor did my parents put them in me. But they were there. I turned away from the mirror and headed out of the house and towards the market stalls. The familiar buss of Cheydinhal was in full swing, as everyone was now awake and ready to see if there was anything they could afford today. I met my father at his stall.

"Ah, Mivryna! Glad to see your mother finally woke you up. Guess you didn't sleep any last night, eh little vampire." I blushed at the sound of my father's joke about my nocturnal energy. For one there were people around.

"Fatherrr. Do you have to call me that?" I tried to glare at him, but it didn't work.

"Well then go to bed on time and maybe I won't. So, for the morning you man the stall while I make deliveries, alright?"

"Alright." I said. We switched places and Father grabbed a large sack and headed off onto one of the side streets. I leaned against the stall, calling out the items we had for sell. At the moment we were trying to sell off the weapons and armor that some passing adventurer had sold us. Unfortunately, most townspeople are more interested in bread and apples than some leather armor or a sword or mace. Soon I had given up hope of the usual customers buying something and just kept my head down and looked at the wood work on the stall.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing here?" It was Malcolm. I never noticed him come up. Dang it.

"What do you want, Malcolm?" I tried to sound polite, but bitterness filled my voice.

He didn't notice. "Just checking up on my favorite girl. Is that a crime?" he said innocently as he took a lock of my hair and twirled it between his fingers. I tried not to shudder. "Some people could call it stalking." I said. Malcolm laughed.

"Really. Well after last night, I think you owe me a conversation at least. Maybe something more." That look in his eyes that terrified me was there, and I could smell a bit of wine in his breath. Lovely. I heard an "hmph" sound and saw that one of the girls in town was looking in our direction with a particular evil look directed at me. And this day just gets better and better.

"Malcolm, I have work to do. Now if you would please leave me alone." I said as I pulled my hair back from him. But Malcolm held on to it and pulled me so close I thought he was going to kiss me. From behind the stall, small flames licked my palms, ready to turn into a full-on Flames spell if need be. Malcolm grabbed my chin and made me look at him head-on.

"Don't think for a minute that your little outburst changed anything last night. You're still mine." He said darkly. Fear spiked through me at just how cruel the advisor's son could be. Luckily, Father intruded on our conversation.

"Malcolm. Good to see you, boy. How are your parents?" My father asked in an overly cheerful voice.

Malcolm snorted. "Fine, thank you. I was just asking your daughter if she had reconsidered my offer." The last word hung in the air, as if I was supposed to answer it.

"I'm afraid that Mivryna is still expecting her application from the College. It would seem unfair should they accept her and have her be in the middle of preparing for a wedding. Besides, she is only thirteen, fourteen in three days. At least wait a few more years before rushing in to things. Trust me; you don't want to marry the wrong person." My father said with a joking tone. But that just hid his hatred.

"Of course sir. I would never ask for your daughter's hand without your permission." His bored voice said otherwise. But nonetheless, he stalked out of the marketplace, the eyes of every girl watching him leave. I felt like I was going to puke.

My father turned on me. "I thought your mother said to stay away from him." His crimson eyes seemed to have an unearthly glow.

"There was nothing I could do! He came up to me! And it wasn't like I could leave the stall!" I shot back angrily.

My father rubbed his eyes. "You're right. I should have made you do the deliveries. For the rest of the week that's what you'll be doing. Why don't you go on to the tavern? Elanor is waiting for your there." I didn't even look back at the stall as I ran.

* * *

Elanor was waiting for me at our usual table. Out of everyone in Cheydinhal, she's the only one who doesn't give me dirty looks or thinks I'm weird. Must be why the little Bosmer is my best friend.

Elanor sat poured over her sketchbook as usual, her piece of charcoal moving blindingly fast. She was small, as all Bosmer are, with tanned skin, dark eyes, and medium brown hair that fell in front of her face. I sat down beside her and looked over to see her drawing the tavern from her point of view.

"That's pretty good." I said. Elanor gave a yelp and jumped; her charcoal quivering in the air. She breathed deeply when she saw me.

"Mivryna, I told you to stop sneaking up on me. I don't like it." She glared at me, but her eyes quickly swept the room for any signs that we were being overheard. Typical shy little Elanor.

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you, you just weren't listening." I said defiantly.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you until after lunch."

"My father let me go after a run-in with Malcolm."

Elanor turned nearly white (which for her tanned skin is saying something). "Are you all right? He didn't hurt you?"

"No, the little s'wit didn't even touch me." At Elanor shocked look I said, "Oh, come now, Elanor, at least I don't use real curses like most people."

"Yeah, well I'd get slapped across the face if I was caught saying _that_." That was right. Her father was a skooma addict who usually abused both her and her mother whenever he felt like it. Although her mother tried to make ends meet, it was hard enough in my family to keep food on the table and a house over their heads, even with everyone pitching in. For Elanor and her mother, it was impossible.

A haughty laugh from across the room caught our attention. Unfortunately, I knew the voice before I even looked, for one; I had dinner with the rat. Medora, Malcolm's older sister, was standing at the doorway, followed by the Twins (two Dunmer sisters who looked exactly alike and whose family was from one of the Great Houses. Which, of course, would be the only reason Medora hung out with them).

"Dang it. First Malcolm and now his sister? And I'm supposed to be staying away from the advisor's family." I breathed to Elanor, who had gone pale again. I needed to get out of here. Now.

"Excuse me, miss, but may I recommend our secret room?" I turned to find the barmaid staring at me. I looked over to the barkeeper, who winked. Thank the gods that I'm not the only one who hates Medora.

"Yes, certainly."

* * *

The 'secret room' was actually the backdoor (yeah, real secret). After we left the tavern, Elanor and I had headed down to the stables for work. Basically every day we go and ride the horses through the mountains to exercise them so the stable master could use that time for other things, like getting the loan sharks off his back (greedy little filchers). So we rode out into the Valus Mountains and stopped at a small clearing. And where I apparently decided to doze off.

"Mivryna. Mivryna!" called Elanor.

"Huh?" I said wonderfully as I looked up at the Wood Elf with blurry sleep-filled eyes.

"You fell asleep."

"I can see that." I said sitting up.

"Well, I figured that you wouldn't want to spend your whole afternoon sleeping." She glared at me but with her petite figure it just made it look funny. I watched as she gave up trying to look stern and went back to her sketchbook. A cry from above made me look up to see an eagle flying high among the clouds. The sound of Elanor's charcoal on paper made me watch as she quickly drew the image that had caught her inspiration. When she was done, I peered over her to see.

She had drawn the eagle and even though she had only seen it for a second, the piece was perfect. Almost as if it was the real thing. That was what I always found amazing about Elanor. Although Elanor never wanted anything to do with a bow and arrow, her elven eyesight allowed her to be able to detect details others couldn't. And combined with her artistic nature allowed the thirteen-year-old Bosmer to have exceptional drawing skills.

"It's beautiful." I said as I studied the picture.

"It was a quick sketch. Nothing major. It probably wasn't anything that good."

I sighed. "Elanor, if I had tried to draw that, you'd end up with a bunch of weird shapes and lines. You wouldn't be able to tell what it was. Trust me, when I say you got talent, you do."

"Oh, you're _supposed_ to say that. You're my best friend!"

"And you better remember it." We laughed at ourselves. Elanor, wanting to be off the subject, said, "So what are your parents getting you for your birthday?"

My heart tightened. My birthday was in three days and I never even mentioned anything to them. Luckily, they were too busy to ask. I looked up at the sky. It had gotten cloudy and no doubt snow would soon fall. _Evening Star. The last month of the year and the first month of winter. Perfect time to have your birthday Gods, I hate the cold._ But all I said was, "I don't know. It's probably my application to the College of Winterhold. I doubt they could afford anything else."

"Yeah, but they haven't sent anything back yet. You might not get it. Surely they thought of a back-up." She said. "And besides, why send you all the way to Skyrim? Why not the Mages Guild?"

"Because my parents think that the Guild is too interested in politics in order to teach. The College is supposed to be removed from the rest of the world." I sighed. "But why so far? I mean, yeah it'd be great if I got accepted, but that would mean crossing a nearly half the country. I've never been out of the mountains, much to another province. I guess I'm a little nervous." The silence that hung there seemed to last forever, but was soon broken by the sound completely out of place in an empty forest.

"Hear that?" Elanor asked.

"Yeah." I said. Silently I got up and crept over to the cliff that was on the other side of the clearing. And I hoped that I would never see anything like that ever again.

The forest had been cut away to make a small clearing for a makeshift ring. And in it were two wolves fighting each other to the death. Men stood around them, drinking something out of a purple bottle and smelled like sugar. My guess it wasn't mead.

"A pit wolf ring. And that's skooma, what they're drinking that is." Elanor had come up behind me and was once again looking like she'd seen a ghost. "Oh gods no!" she gasped.

I looked at her. "What?" I asked but she never got the chance to answer.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Fire

**_Hey, I'm back with the latest chapter. Sorry it took so long but I hadn't been feeling like writing and it took a while to get myself to go and finish it. Luckily this chapter is a bit more interesting than the others. Hopefully I'll put the chapters up faster and unfortunately this chapter is fairly long. Guess 3,000 words is going to be the normal size of the chapters. Well, nothing else to say other than let's get on with the story. Here you are._**

Both Elanor and I turned to see a huge Orc standing right behind us, with an Orcish greatsword in his hand and covered in steel armor. I found myself frozen in place, too scared to move, much less scream. I had heard stories of bandits attacking people on the road (well, when an already weak Empire loses its king, guards tend not to do a very good job in making sure its citizens don't get butchered every time they leave the front gates), but I had never known bandits to camp around here as it was close to the main road and not very defendable. But then again, nobody said bandits were smart.

The Orc standing in front of us glared as the both of us just stared at him with wide eyes (actually Elanor was staring at the huge sword in his hand which didn't help). "Hey, I asked the two of you a question. Now what are you two doing here or I'll cut you both in half!" he threatened in an Orc's usual rough voice. Beside me, Elanor cowered in fear and even I drew back, but I answered him, "We were hanging out by the lake." I thought it odd that my voice didn't break.

That didn't seem to satisfy the bandit. "Really. Well, it looks like to me that you are two little trespassers who've seen too much. And now I'm going to have to deal with it." He swung his greatsword over his head to bring it down on my head and Elanor screamed until another voice called, "Hey, Mol, what do you got up there?"

That stopped the Orc in his tracks and stopped the blade inches from my head. The Orc (apparently called Mol) sheathed his greatsword over his back and looked down the cliff to see who was calling him. I turned and saw an Imperial bandit in hide armor and an iron war axe at his side. The man didn't seem to be able to see Elanor or me from our place behind the bushes. But the Orc saw to that as he grabbed the both of us by the scruff of our clothes and lifted us up so our feet dangled easily off the ground. Elanor let out a small yelp and I turned to see she had gone completely white.

"Just a few snoops." Said the Orc. Upon seeing us, the Imperial smiled wickedly and called back, "Why don't you bring them down here. Boss will want to see this." He turned and headed back toward the ring. The Orc muttered something about the boss having all the fun and carried us down the cliff and into the fire.

* * *

The camp was rather small, with most of it being taken up by the ring where the pit wolves were fighting. On one side were a bunch of cages where more wolves snarled and bared their teeth at anyone who came near, wolf and bandit alike. On the other side of the ring was a makeshift bar where a hunched-over Imperial was serving the usual wine and ale but mostly skooma in small purple bottles. And all around the ring were not only bandits but also several people from town who were rumored to keep up some sort of skooma ring but no evidence ever showed up. Guess we know why.

Mol took us right up to the ring and I could see that the fight was over, the wolf that lost lay in a puddle of its own blood and the winner had obviously sustained severe injuries. Men placed in their bets as some of them looked to see who the new additions to the ring were. On the opposite side of the ring, a man on a raised platform looked down at us with ample curiosity. "So, what have you brought us, Mol? Those don't look like wolves to me." Said the man who no doubt was the ring leader as the others laughed. Mol tightened his grip on us as he replied, "Two little trespassers. Found them snooping around. What do you want to do with 'em?"

Before the ring leader could reply, someone shouted out, "Hey, Sylch, isn't the small one your daughter?" Now I knew what Elanor had been so scared about. And sure enough, every head turned to the middle-aged Bosmer who was obviously knee-deep in skooma. He looked at us; his black eyes seemed to bore into my mind. Elanor's dad's always seemed to undermine even the hardiest of men and right now he showed no love for his daughter.

"Yeah, the useless little bastard's mine. Just like her mother, always can't do what she's told and has to get herself into trouble. Think it's about time she learned her lesson." He turned to the leader. "Go an' throw 'em in!" he shouted. The leader looked pleased and the crowd roared their consent as Elanor screamed for her father not to do this but he just looked off into the ring. Mol lowered us a little before he used his massive strength to send the both of us flying right into the ring.

I landed on my stomach and was quickly aware of a low growl that stood the hair on the back of my neck on end. I looked up to see the wounded pit wolf snarling at its new challenger. Beside me, Elanor's breathing was quick and shallow and I quickly got to my feet and pulled Elanor up. The wolf charged us and Elanor managed to move to the side as the creature rammed into me head-on, knocking me to the ground. I threw up my arms and grabbed the animal's throat, which attempted to snap at my head. Elanor screamed my name and as the pit wolf snarled viciously I could smell its breath, the scent of rotting meat and death.

Suddenly my mother's training kicked back into my memory and I cast a small Flames spell, causing the wolf to yelp and throw itself off of me and run to the other side of the ring. I got up and let fire engulf my palms. Half the bandits cheered as they realized that this was actually going to be a fight and the other half booed at the fact that I actually had a chance. But I ignored them and looked over at Elanor. "Get behind me," I said and she obeyed with a nod.

The wolf had recovered from the first blast and ran straight to us. Elanor screamed and ducked as I dualcasted Flames and set the wolf on fire. It crumpled at my feet in a pile, whining in pain for a moment before going still.

The ring leader's face was scarlet. No doubt he didn't think we would kill one of his wolves. Those around the ring were in an uproar, even throwing bottles of skooma at us (in retrospect, they're going have to buy whole new bottles later). But soon the leader of the ring called for silence.

"Well it seems there's more to you than meets the eye. Interesting." He turned to the crowd. "What do you think we should do with them, huh?" The men yelled out their answers, calling out so loudly that no one person could be heard. But then one man's scream managed to outdo the others.

"Hey guess what I found!" He held up a small black bundle, shaking it so hard that I couldn't focus on it. But once I heard its whining I knew what it was.

The leader looked at the little black wolf pup with annoyance. "That one again? Throw it in the ring. About time it learned how to fight." The pup was promptly tossed over the side of the ring and landed with a thump. It got up and ran to one side and rolled into a ball, whining and shivering with fear. Then the leader called for his men to send in more wolves.

Three wolves ran in snarling and howling through the small narrow entrance of the ring. I ran forward and let the flames pour from my palms. The lead wolf caught the fire on its head and attempted to turn away but was not yet out of the narrow passage and it soon blocked the other wolves from advancing. I continued the spell until the front wolf fell, which allowed the other two to jump over the charred body and come tearing after me. I used both my hands to cast Flames at both of the wolves, but they were not as afraid of the fire as the first two and ran straight at me despite the fact that they were being burned alive.

One wolf staggered and turned to avoid the flames, which let me concentrate more the other one. But the third wolf got smart and tried to run around me and avoid my spell. It leapt at me from the side and I barely had enough time to roll away before the beast landed right where I had just been, jaws closing in on thin air instead of flesh. I got into a crouch and quickly sent a stream of fire right at the pit wolf. Luckily it had finally had enough and after a few seconds, it collapsed.

"Mivryna!" Elanor cried frantically. I turned to see that she had moved from her place behind me and was now up against the left side of the ring with the other pit wolf glaring and snarling up at her. The wolf pup was curled in her arms, I noted briefly. But nonetheless, I ran towards them just as the wolf started to attack. I tried to cast a spell, but my magicka had finally run out. So I did the first thing that came to mind. I tackled the pit wolf.

I landed on top of the wolf and quickly rolled off as the bloody beast tried to turn over and snap at me. The wolf reached its feet first and threw itself at me just I managed to sit up; so that when the animal tackled me, my knees were underneath its stomach and prevented it from tearing out my throat although that didn't stop it from clawing my face and shoulders. White hot pain ran through me as its claws sliced into me like a knife through butter. I grabbed its throat so it couldn't bite me and tried to cast Flames again, but to no avail.

"What are you doing?" asked Elanor but I was too preoccupied to find out who she was talking to. But I didn't have to. The wolf pup had apparently gotten away from Elanor and had now launched itself at the pit wolf. The little thing tackled the wolf in the head, but with its light-weight build and small body, it just proved to be a petty distraction for the much bigger and more aggressive adult. With a growl, the pit wolf shook its head and the young pup was sent flying. But that was all the time I needed for my magicka to recharge enough. I grabbed the wolf's head, making sure to cover the eyes, and dualcasted the spell right in the bloody dog's face, thus ending its miserable life.

"NO!" roared the ring leader. I jumped; I had completely forgotten who had tossed us in this ring of blood and terror in the first place. I looked up and this time got a good look at the man; an Imperial with banded iron armor and a matching sword and shield that was now drawn. From down here I could hear the hum of an enchantment. _Dang it._

"You damn elf! You took out my best dogs. And now you'll pay" He prepared to jump into the ring when another voice rang out, loud, clear, and filled with authority.

"Stop right there! In the name of the Count and Countess, I order you to halt!" Everyone in the clearing looked up to see a man dressed in guard armor on top a black horse, his sword gleaming in the dreary winter light. Around him were several other guards, all with their weapons out and ready to kill. The ring leader went dead white and screamed, "Retreat! Every man for himself!" and with that jumped off the side of the platform and attempted to run off into the woods. The twang of several bowstrings and the whoosh of arrows was all that sounded the rat's death.

Quiet settled over the camp for an instant before pandemonium broke out. Both guards and bandits yelled as the inhabitants of the camp either scattered or tried to fight. Elanor came up beside me, her face finally letting its color come back. I heard a small whimper and saw that the pup nuzzling my arm. I got to my feet and without a word went to the side of the ring and hoisted myself up onto it.

The camp was like a battleground. Bodies of bandits and a few guards covered the ground. Most of the bandits had already surrendered or ran off into the forest but I could see several little skirmishes that were, more or less, ending. I also saw the hunched back bartender trying to stick as much skooma into a large sack before an arrow was sent flying into his shoulder, throwing him back farther than I'd thought imaginable.

"Hey, kid!" I turned to see that it was the captain of the guard calling for me. Elanor called my attention back and I looked down to see several guards were circling around the fence. I hoped down on the outside and strong hands easily caught me and lowered me to the ground. The both of us were lead to the captain, who seemed to study us with a mix of concern and suspicion.

"What exactly are you two doing here?" he said in his deep, authoritative voice. Although the captain knew the both of us, he still sounded as if he thought we had been a part of the ring voluntarily.

"We were riding the horses out like we do every day. We didn't know the bandits were here or else we wouldn't be here." I tried to say calmly even though it is hard to when a man as large as the captain of the guard is staring you down. Luckily I wasn't known around town for lying.

"All right, miss, it's not like I suspected you or anything." He looked over to a small group of guards. The battle at the camp was over and the guards were now searching those who had surrendered for weapons. "Hey, boys," he called over to three of them and once they had come over, he said, "Take these two ladies home. Think their parents might want to see them." That was when I realized that I must look like a wreck (me more so than Elanor, as I had done all the fighting). The guards quickly answered with an "Ai, ai, sir!" and soon we were headed for the gates of Cheydinhal. After dropping the horses off at the stable (and after the guards managed to convince the owner's wife to stop giving us a bear hug that should suffocate us) we were taken to my house where Elanor's mother and both my parents were waiting. Apparently the whole town had caught wind that there was a bandit camp nearby and that we had gone out.

When we opened the door, we found our parents sitting at the small kitchen table, stone-faced as if they expected the guards to come back with our bodies. Their expressions brightened upon realizing that the worse had not come to pass and after a few minutes of our parents hugging us, we were finally told to go and wash off all the dirt and sweat. After coming back and being given bowls of stew to eat, the interrogation was finally started.

Mother was the first to speak. "All you two all right? They didn't hurt you? What happened?" I jumped at the worry in her voice. For a moment I thought she might cry.

"No, Mother, we're fine." I paused and then said, "I used my Flames spell to fend off the pit wolves until the guards came." All three of the adults looked at me in surprise. It was no secret that I practiced magic, but I had never actually used it in combat or anything, so of course my using magic outside my mother's lessons was surprising.

My father was the first to break the silence. "Well, at least you're safe." After that, both Elanor and I had to retell the story, mostly Elanor told it and I found out the young Bosmer was quite a story teller. After a while, the wolf pup that had been snuggled in Elanor's arm finally gave itself away and whined and once again the adults of the room were shocked to silence. The pup squirmed away from my best friend and landed on the floor, whining all the time.

"Is that a-?" Elanor's mother looked like she couldn't tell whether she was staring at something completely innocent or something that was going to kill her. The pup looked in her direction and yawned.

"Yeah, I think so. She matches the description." Said Elanor.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. Seriously, the inside thing was annoying.

"The pup. She's a shadow wolf." Said Elanor.

"A shadow what?"

"A shadow wolf. They're an extremely rare wolf species native only to Valenwood. They're very intelligent and are said to literally be able to blend in with the shadows, thus the naming. Most of them were killed when the Altmeri Dominion came in and built roads right through their territory. Only a few left. Must've shipped this little one over from Valenwood." Said Elanor's mother while she looked at the little wolf who had found Father's boots as her new chew toy (how Elanor knew it was a she I don't know and wasn't in the mood to find out). The pup only stopped to look at the Bosmer woman for a second before continuing her rampage. Father shook his head and picked up the little thing, much to the pup's annoyance.

"Noisy little thing aren't you?" asked my father but the wolf had already jumped out of his arms and run over to me where she curled up on my lap and fell asleep. Everyone laughed.

"Well, it's obvious who she likes best, eh?" Said Father. I glared at him but still stroked the pup's pitch black fur. It was amazingly soft.

"Can Mivryna keep her? Please?" asked Elanor.

"Elanor! I never said I wanted to keep her. Besides, we can barely afford ourselves, much less a pet." I remembered the time a little puppy had followed me home when I was five. I had tried to convince my parents to let me keep it, but they had said it was too expensive. I doubt anything had changed since then.

"But the puppy is already attached to you. It's possible that she won't want to leave."

"It's true. Shadow wolves are known to attach themselves to someone who they admire." Said Elanor's mother.

"But the wolf is attached to Elanor, not me." I countered.

"Mivryna, you were too busy to notice, but the pup never took her eyes off of you until she leapt from my arms. You were the one who saved our lives, not me. The pup trusts you and only you. She won't go with anyone else. These wolves can be very stubborn." Said Elanor. She looked to my parents for approval. They shared a one of those looks that said more than words could. I always wondered what that meant. Huh.

Finally, my mother said, "Alright, if you can prove you can take care of her, you can keep the puppy. But if you mistreat her or she bites you, she goes right back where she came from, got it?"

"Got it." I said as Elanor jumped up and cheered, waking up a whining little wolf pup who looked up at me through bleary eyes, almost saying _What's going on?_ I smiled, suddenly thinking that maybe my keeping her was a good idea after all.

"So, what are you going to name her?" asked Elanor curiously. After coming up with and discarding several names, I finally found one that seemed to stick.

"Shade."


	4. Chapter 4: Change

_**And I'm back with another chapter. After finishing the last one I just could wait to finish the second. Hope you like the addition of Shade to the story because she's going to be around for a long while. Excuse any grammar and spelling errors. I think I got them all but you'd never know. Don't know when the next chapter will be up but it might or might not be anytime soon. Well, enjoy.**_

I woke up feeling something soft and furry tickling my feet and heard a small whining sound. Opening my eyes, I found Shade looking up at me with her little brown eyes trying to convince me to get up. I smiled and quickly dressed, finding that both my parents were gone. _Mother must be outside doing yard work and Father must at the stall. Wonder why they didn't wake me._ After Shade's incessant whining, I finally gave her some leftover chicken that Mother had wanted me to finish but never got around to. Then I was out the door with the little puppy hot on my heels.

Upon coming outside and meeting the bitter winter wind, I went into the small barn that we housed our animals in the winter. Inside, Mother was milking our old cow that always looked like it would fall over dead at any second. Mother looked up from her work and saw me. "Oh, Mivryna. Finally awake, huh? Go take Goose out to the river, okay?"

I groaned. Goose was the mule we used for tilling our small garden ('Goose' is what you get when you let an eight-year-old name an animal). Since my family couldn't afford a horse, my father had come up with the idea that a mule would be just as good. Though it was as strong as a horse, Father didn't think that the mule would as stubborn as a donkey and never do anything you told it to. I was proved my point when I reached the stall and Goose looked at me with that look that told you he wasn't going anywhere. I went and grabbed the bridle that hung on the wall and managed to slip it on with little trouble, but when I opened the stall door and gave the reins a small tug, Goose lifted his head and neighed, nearly making me fall over. I turned and glared at the animal. "Can't you do one simple thing in your whole life?" His response was to jerk his head away from me and make me let go of the reins.

I heard Shade bark and looked down to see the little puppy run into the stall and behind Goose. I couldn't help but smile when the little thing started to jump up and down beside one of the mule's hind legs and give a small puppy-like bark with every jump while Goose just looked back at the young wolf with mild annoyance. I shook my head and turned to go get some sugar cubes to lure Goose out of his stall when I heard a loud, startled neigh. I barely had time to move out of the way as Goose ran out of his stall like his life depended on it. I watched the mule zoom past my mother and out into the cold, winter day.

I turned to look back into the stall. "Well, Shade, I guess your plan wor- Shade? Shade? I said as I realized that the little puppy was not in the stall. _Crud_.

I ran out into the yard to find a sight that was both funny and terrifying. Goose was running around the yard like a chicken with its head chopped off and holding on to the mule's tail was Shade, only a little ball of black fur to my eyes. I was torn away from the sight upon hearing someone to my left. Two boys were on the ground clutching their sides and laughing at the chaos in the yard. I gave them a good glare and they ran off with their tails between their legs. I then studied how to best to deal with my problem. Luckily I was saved by Elanor. The Bosmer quickly jumped the fence to our yard and ran straight up to the mule. Speaking her native tongue, Goose stopped right in front of Elanor and went from a frightened to completely calm to the point that he seemed act like a young foal. The young Wood Elf placed her hand on Goose's forehead as he tried to nuzzle her arm. With a flash of realization I remembered why Goose had been running around in the first place.

I ran up behind Goose and bent down and grabbed a growling Shade with both hands. "Alright, girl, let go." I said gently. She obeyed and looked up at me almost as if to say, _did I do a good job?_ I laughed.

Elanor put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. "I don't see what's so funny. I know Goose isn't exactly model behavior but you don't have to make Shade bite him."

"Hey, it was her idea. I was going to try sugar cubes." I shot back. Shade buried her head in my arm and whined when Elanor turned her gaze onto her. I just stood there shaking my head.

Elanor gave me the reins and while she spoke softly to him in her native language, I led him out of the gate and down the road to the river.

* * *

After letting Goose drink from the river and we drew the water we needed for at the house, we headed back to the house where mother told me to go help Father at his stall. Luckily Malcolm had to leave town for the day because of some errand (don't know why and I don't care so long as I don't have to look at the s'wit) so I manned the stall while father did the deliveries. Even better, Father had managed to convince the head of guard to buy the rest of the weapons and armor we had so that was one less thing that I had to worry about. I had just finished getting rid of one of the boys in town who had supposedly stopped to buy some bread for his mother but apparently forgot when he saw me (in what world do boys find it funny to annoy a girl to the point where she has to threaten to burn their faces off to make them leave her alone) when a huge bouquet of pink roses was flung into my face. I threw them down on the table and looked up to see one of those girls in town who I knew was head over heels for Malcolm and hated me because he didn't like her over me. I glared at her and said bitterly, "What was that for?"

"They're for you, whore." She said cruelly and turned around as if she was a princess and started to walk away. I didn't even need to read the tag to know who they were from. I picked up the preppy flowers and tossed them at her, undoing the pathetic knot that tied them together and thus making them burst open and spill over her. "Keep them. They look better on you anyway." She turned around to more than likely curse me out when Shade growled at her from her vantage point on the stall (how the little thing got up there is a mystery to me). The girl looked at Shade in disgust and said, "You're keeping that _animal_ as a pet. Ugh!" She turned up her nose at the sight. I wanted to smack her. "Why not? She's better company than you." She turned and stalked away, muttering a string of curses under her breath.

Elanor came up beside me. "You shouldn't have done that. You know those girls are good about getting revenge."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't just going to let her walk away like that. They always think that they can walk all over you and you're supposed to let them. Besides, let her get her revenge. It'll just show everyone what she's really like." And with that I went back to studying the wood grain.

"Um, Mivryna?" Asked Elanor.

"Yeah." When she didn't answer I looked at her. "What is it?"

Well, it's just that I, um, I mean we, well…" She stuttered but I knew Elanor too well.

"If you can't say it then why don't you try to draw it?"

Elanor sat down on the stump behind her and after a moment of hesitation, started to draw in her quick, elven pace.

"Excuse me, but are you Mivryna Faryon?" asked a male voice. I turned to see a courier looking at me curiously. "Yes," I answered carefully.

"This is for you, from the College of Winterhold in Skyrim. Well, looks like that's it, got to go." And with that he turned and left.

_The College of Winterhold. This must be the letter telling me whether I passed or not._ Anxiety filled in the pit of my stomach. _What if I don't get in? The mage who came down and gave me my introductory examination said I did pretty well, but what if the other mages didn't think so?_ My thoughts were interrupted by Father coming back from his deliveries.

"Well, how did the morning go?" he asked cheerfully. He narrowed his eyes as if something was wrong. "What's that in your hair? They look like petals." He picked it out and sure enough, some of the rose petals had gotten stuck in my hair. "Oh, those were from roses Malcolm sent me. The rest are over there." I pointed over to the pile of roses that had already been trampled by some uncaring people.

"Even if he isn't here it's like he's still here." My father said under his breath but I didn't have time to continue the conversation because from behind me came the sound of muffled crying. I turned to find that it was Elanor, crying over her sketchbook with Shade jumping up on her leg and barking to try and get the young Bosmer's attention.

I immediately went over to my best friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "Elanor, what's wrong?" I could see the edge of her sketchbook, the tops of trees drawn perfectly into the paper. I tried to pull it away but just as a bit more of the picture came into view, Shade jumped up and yanked the booklet out of my hand and ran off down the road.

"Hey! Shade, get back here!" I called but the little wolf pup just kept running. I ran after her with Elanor right behind me. Together we chased the puppy around Cheydinhal and ended up catching up to her around the row of abandoned houses. Elanor got ahead of me and quickly launched herself at Shade but missed by inches. Running around Elanor, I rounded the corner of the house and moved towards Shade's side so I could cut her off. Shade realized this and quickly tried to dart past me. But I threw myself at her and managed to grab her small body. Shade squirmed as I pulled her close and took the sketchbook from her. She moved away from me when I let her go and let out a small whine.

"Well you're the one who took the book." I told her. I sat up just as Elanor rounded the corner. "Did you get it?" she asked. She then looked at my hand. "What's that?"

I looked down to see that I was still holding the letter. "Oh, yeah, a courier came by with a letter. It's from the College." I said.

Elanor's eyes went wide. "Really. Have you opened it? What did it say?"

"Actually I haven't opened it yet." I admitted.

Elanor stared at me for a long while before saying, "Well, are you going to open it or not?"

"Oh! Yeah, I probably should." I said embarrassed.

"Duh." Said Elanor. I looked at the letter for a second before tearing away the seal and opening it see the neat handwriting. Elanor peered over my shoulder but I still read aloud:

_Dear Miss Mivryna Faryon,_

_ After reviewing the results of your examination we have hereby decided to induct you into the Mage's College of Winterhold in the Province of Skyrim. Please show this letter to the Gatekeeper upon you arrival to the College._

_ Wishing you luck on your journey,_

_ Savos Aren, Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold_

I looked at the letter as if it were the secret of life. _I've been accepted. I've been accepted._ I kept thinking over and over in my mind. Elanor was the first to speak.

"I guess you'll be leaving soon." Suddenly I realized what that meant.

"Elanor, I don't have to go at once. Besides, my birthday is in two days. It's not like my parents want me out of Cheydinhal as soon as possible."

"You should go. Besides," Elanor took a deep breath, "I won't be here when you come back."

"What do you mean?" I asked but Elanor just handed me her sketchbook. The picture was blurred from where she had cried on it but the image was still fairly clear. City gates, a carriage, a huge towering forest. I looked up at my best friend, who had silent tears running down her face.

"You're moving back to Valenwood."

* * *

"How can you be moving back to Valenwood?" I asked, not sure what to think.

"This wasn't my choice. Mother decided this, not me!" Elanor shot back.

"But she's been over this with your father for years! He couldn't have changed his mind in one day."

"Father's dead. He wouldn't surrender. I saw the guards do it." The Bosmer shook her head. "The idiot always had to have his way. And now he's dead for it."

"I'm sorry," was all I could say.

"Don't be. He never loved me or Mother. And all though I can't speak for her, I may have once loved Father, but that day has long passed. You of all people should know this."

"When are you leaving?" I asked quietly.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" I repeated. "She didn't give you much time, did she?"

"I tried to convince her to at least let me stay until your birthday but Mother wants to leave this place behind as soon as possible. She can't stand it here." Said Elanor. "Coming to Cyrodiil was Father's idea, not hers. She always wanted to leave, especially when one of our relatives died and she inherited a large amount of gold and a ton of other stuff from her. Going back there would mean we would live well for the rest of our lives. Mother would never have to worry about us starving and she could send me off to become a better artist, so I'd have an actual education behind my skill. And now that Father can't hold her back, she wants to leave Cheydinhal behind and never return."

We were both quiet for a long while. "Then it seems that we're both leaving this place behind. I'll be heading off to become a mage and you'll be able to become a better artist. In a way, it's for the better." I said.

"But it's still hard to say good-bye." Elanor said solemnly.

"Yeah, it's always hard."


	5. Chapter 5: Hard Goodbyes

_**And here is chapter 5! Wanted to get this up during the weekend, but life has decided to get in the way. Oh well, managed to get it up now, so I guess it's better than never. This one is rather sad, so a warning to those who cry really easily, though I don't think you'll need a tissue. Like always, I'll see about getting the next chapter up soon, but might not be until this weekend. Either way, be sure to expect it, now that's the story is really moving along. Well, I've taken up enough of your time already (that is, if you read this part), so I'll leave you to delve deeper into Mivryna's story. And of course, please rate and review. Love to hear your opinion, so long as you're polite. Well, enjoy.**_

I didn't sleep at all that night. _Elanor's moving back to Valenwood, I'll be leaving to go study at the College of Winterhold a whole province away. And when I get back, the only people who will welcome me back with sincere open arms are my parents. I've only had one true friend and now she's leaving forever. Everything's changing, but for better or for worse, I can't tell._

I got up before my parents and after going through my usual routine, I headed out to the row of abandoned buildings where Elanor and I had made our new meeting place since the incident with the bandit camp. The rays of the sun just started to appear on the horizon when my soon-to-be-gone best friend came by. The two of us sat in silence, unsure of what to say, the only thing disturbing the peace being Shade's attempts to bring us back to the real world, but soon even she relented and lay at my feet quietly.

The sun had almost come out from the horizon when Elanor started to cry, at first seeming small, but soon turned into a wrenching sob. Putting my arm around her, I pulled her close and rested my head against hers until her sobs lessened to hiccups and she pulled away. After a moment of looking into the rising sun, she finally said, "So this is it. Everything's either been sold or packed. All we have to do now is wait for the carriage."

"And now we're spending our last moments together crying and counting the minutes." I said bitterly. Somehow I felt that these last moments were being wasted. But then, what do you do with your best friend right before they're going to leave and never return?

Elanor moved away from her place by the wall to sit in front of me. I sat up, curling my legs against me, which forced a disgruntled Shade to shift her spot beside me. After the both of us were comfortable, I reached over and scratched the little wolf behind the ears, which she responded by whining turning onto her side so her feet dangled in the air. Elanor gave a small, short giggle. I looked up to see that she was pulling out her sketchbook and with her nimble fingers, quickly drew the image in front of her. When she was done she turned the booklet toward me to see. In the small shades of gray from the charcoal, I could see a realistic-looking Shade lying beside my knee, turned on her back and eyes closed while my hand scratched the base of her neck. She seemed to be just an ordinary puppy, and not one who had been abused and forced to learn how to kill anything on sight.

"Now you have something to remember her by." I said, smiling.

But Elanor looked at me grimly. "Mivryna."

"Yeah?" I said looking from the picture to her.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Her eyes seemed to be filling with tears and I tried to respond as calmly as I could, "You could ask me anything. What are friends for?"

Elanor bit her lip before saying, "I want to draw you." Out of all the requests the petite Bosmer could ask, asking if she could draw me was one of the last I expected. My mind went back to the day we had met, when I was barely five and she was four. I had caught her drawing me, and I had gotten angry because that, for some reason, I hadn't wanted to be drawn. She had been so sorry but my anger had been replaced by curiosity at seeing a few of her drawings. She showed them to me and before either of us knew it, we had become fast friends. But even after that day, I had never wanted to be drawn, and Elanor never asked.

"Please, Mivryna." She said pleadingly while she held her hands together. She dropped them a moment afterwards and looked me calmly in the eyes. "I want something to remember you by. Something that I'll have forever."

That won me over. "All right." I paused for a moment. "_You're_ right. After all, it wouldn't do if we forgot each other."

Elanor grinned and quickly flipped to a new page in her book. I leaned against the wall and sitting up straight, I looked Elanor straight on and smiled as best as I could. Elanor studied me a bit before saying, "You good?

"Yeah." I said as Elanor got to work. Oddly, Elanor didn't do the usual quick movements that she always did; her hand moved slowly and calculated, looking up from time to time instead of only needing to see me once. The sun had now fully risen out of the sky before Elanor stopped drawing and nodded for me to come closer. I did so and gasped.

It was better than looking in a mirror. Every detail seemed to be so realistic, I thought I could touch it and feel the textures that had been captured. "It's beautiful." I whispered. Looking at my face, I thought Elanor had messed up my cheeks until I realized that they were tears. I put a hand up to my own face to find it wet. I hadn't even known.

I looked up to find tears were falling from Elanor's face as well. She pressed her sketchbook to her chest and buried her head in her arms. Shade, who had watched all of this intently, jumped up and licked Elanor's face. She let out a startled laugh and let the pup jump into her arms. The Bosmer smiled and put her book down to hold Shade level to herself.

"You take good care of her, got it?" Shade whined as Elanor smiled. "Do that and I'm sure she'll do the same in return." I came over and took the little fuzzball from her, holding her against my chest and letting her bury her head into me. "Don't worry," I said, "I won't let anything happen to her."

"Elanor! Come on! The carriage is here! We have to go!" came Elanor's mother's voice a distance from our hiding place. The two of us looked at each other, knowing that our time had come. "Well, I guess I'd better get going. No point in having to make Mother come find me." The both of us got up and quickly found the Bosmer woman, who then led us to the main gate. Both my parents were there, as well as a carriage pulled by a bay horse. Already all their things had been packed in. Elanor's mother talked with my parents for a few minutes before eventually saying her good-byes and climbing on board. I turned to Elanor and was quickly surprised when the little Wood Elf hugged me. Shade squirmed out from between us and soon I was hugging my best friend back while Elanor cried into my shoulder. Tears ran heavily down my face as well but I made no move to stop them. Soon Elanor pulled away from me and stared into my eyes for a moment.

"Good bye." She said smiling sadly. "I'm glad to have been your friend."

I gave her the same sad smile. "Same here. I hope things go well for you in Valenwood." She just nodded and looked down at Shade.

"Bye, girl." Shade responded with a bark that turned into a whine. Elanor laughed and reached down to scratch the shadow wolf behind her left ear, making the pup whined contently. And with one more look at me, the only friend I ever had turned and climbed into the carriage, which quickly started to pass through the gates. I never took my eyes off until the doors closed and my mother turned me back toward the house, an empty pit in my stomach.

Back at the house I sat on my bed, trying to get words into my brain. My mother had told me that I could stay at home for the day, but I just nodded woodenly. I stared at my hands, until Shade's barking for food forced me out of my stupor. As I paused at my mirror to wipe the tears from my face, I noticed something was different. A small piece of folded paper had been wedged into the small crack between the glass and the wood. I pulled it out and unfolded it to find a picture of Elanor staring back at me, a warm smile on her face, but tears streaming down it. Written in the corner of the paper in her neat little elven handwriting was a small message: _Something for you to remember me by. Love you always, Elanor._ With a wistful smile, I stuck the paper into a slit in the mirror. _Good-bye, Elanor._

* * *

The rest of that day went by slowly. Without Elanor, I was contended to wander around Cheydinhal for hours. Helping at father's stall in the market didn't help, especially after Malcolm nearly saw me (like I needed to see him right now). Eventually I just wandered outside the walls and found a high enough tree to climb up and then cry until the sun went down and I had to return home. That night I couldn't sleep at all, especially after the nightmare.

_I was in the large room with the massive crystal again. And like last time, the Dunmer in the strange dark armor was there as well. "So, the gem drew you back. Not that I care; soon you'll be mine!" His hand closed around my throat, cutting off my scream._

I woke up sweating and out of breath. "You all right, Mivryna?" asked my father.

"Yeah," I said breathing hard, "just a bad dream." Luckily that seemed to placate him.

After getting dressed, I found my mother had obvious been up making breakfast, as all my favorites were being set on the table. My mother looked up from putting a bowl of bread on the table and smiled widely. "Time to eat, birthday girl. I made all your favorites." _Oh yeah. Today's my fourteenth birthday. With how hectic this week has gotten I completely forgotten._ We all sat down and discussed on how I would spend my birthday. My mother had thought of a shopping trip to the Imperial City, but money had been too short and there was nothing here in Cheydinhal that I thought was worth buying (or at least spending all our money on; last time I checked, we could barely pay for the food). We tried to think of anything that I would enjoy, but came up empty. Soon breakfast was over and father decided to just head out to the stall and shut it down early if we came up with something. After he had left, Mother tried to think up more ideas, but to no avail.

"Mother, my birthday doesn't have to be such a big deal. The breakfast was enough." I said.

"Honey, we don't want your birthday to be like an ordinary thing. I wanted to do something special." She sighed. "Cheydinhal used to have things to do, but after the Great War, mostly it's all it takes to just keep this place alive." Suddenly her eyes widened and she went over to her nightstand and pulled something small wrapped in linen. She came back over to me and unwrapped it to show a gold ring with a single sapphire set into it. She handed it out to me. "This is my family's ring. It's been passed down from mother to daughter for who knows how long. It's usually given when the daughter is considered a woman, but I want you to have something for when you leave for the College. So you always know who you are." She said, placing it on my pointer finger. "Our daughter."

* * *

In the end, I just decided to go and help my father with the market stall, despite my mother's wishes that I shouldn't have to work on my birthday. Eventually, I snuck away to the wander the forest, partly hoping I would get lost. Unfortunately I know these woods all too well. Dang it.

Looking up and watching the clouds pass through the trees always seemed to calm me. But my thoughts seemed to return to darker thoughts. I missed Elanor, more than I thought I could. My parents had tried long ago to get me to hang out with some of the other girls in town, but most of them were all goo-goo eyes for Malcolm and the rest didn't trust me because of my background. The boys were even worse, so I had basically sworn off dating as well. I sighed, feeling, for once, very lonely. I took off the family ring and looked at it a second time, trying to memorize the worn engraving in the metal. Suddenly I noticed that there was writing on the inside of the ring. It read _May the Eagle ever guide you._ I hoped it did.

Shade nuzzled my side and pulled on my sleeve, trying to bait me into playing with her. She soon succeeded and quickly we were playing hide and seek until the sun started to go down, which we then raced each other back to the main gates. It had become dark when we neared the house but it didn't take long to realize something was wrong. I could tell instantly when I saw that the front door open, something Mother would have corrected quickly and then berated the person responsible.

But now it was cracked open and both light and the noise of hushed whispers spilled from it. From beside me, Shade whined and quickly a knot filled in my stomach. Thinking about my parents, I immediately got into crouch and carefully made my way over to the door. The night, which always seemed so calm and peaceful, was now like a distant stranger to me, enigmatic and filled with possible danger. I tried to take calm, quiet breaths, but the closer and closer I got to the door, the more and more I anxious I got and so did my breathing. As I crept towards the door, Shade whined again and tugged on my dress, nearly making me stumble. "Shade," I whispered warningly, not wanting to be overheard but this only made her whine and tug on my dress again, this time hard enough to make me take a step back from the house. "Cut it out," I told her and as I neared the house, she quieted, now moving as silently as a shadow (guess that's where the name came from).

Fear built quickly in my chest, making me feel like I would explode. I was now at the front steps and could just make out the voices. One was my mother's, as familiar to me as the back of my hand, but the other was a male voice, not my father's, that seemed cold, dark, and filled with malice. I couldn't make out the words so I climbed the steps, very slowly so the stupid old wood wouldn't creak and give away my position. As I reached the top, I looked back to see that Shade was at the bottom, trying to motion to me to come down. She looked so scared that for a moment I wanted to go and hold her in my arms.

But after a quick reminder that my own flesh and blood might be in worse danger than the little puppy, I turned back to the door, the voices now starting to become clear, but were muffled by the door. So once the brilliant idea to peek inside entered my head, there was no going back. I carefully edged towards the door and used one hand to open the crack a little farther and then angled myself to see towards the corner where the kitchen table stood. And what I saw at that moment I will never in my entire life, ever, forget.

The kitchen table had been set for dinner, but all the plates and food had been tossed all over the floor, the table lay over on its side, and the cupboard drawers were open and pots and pans were strewn all over the place. I could also see some of my mother's and father's things thrown into the mess and some of the pieces of furniture had large cuts in them; some were even in pieces. Silently I wondered if we were robbed and if so, what had they been looking for? But all that was lost to me when my mind wrapped around the most horrific part of that scene.

Because lying in a pool of his own blood and his throat cut open was my father.


	6. Chapter 6: A Night of Blood and Fire

_**And I'm finally back with Chapter 6. I've been trying to get into the rythmn of posting a new chapter every weekend, but unfortunately the rest of my life takes place over this story. Oh well, though most of my chapters are probably going to be late, I'll at least write one a week. A quick note: this chapter is the last of the chapters that make up a kind of 'prologue' due to the fact that there were too many details to do a flashback. But now more than ever I would like some reviews on how you think the story is doing so far, whether that be good or bad (and if you don't like something in the story, I'm okay with you telling me about it, but at least do your best to be polite when saying so; I do my best to come up with these chapters and somebody telling me that I suck and should just give up on this or something along the line is just plain depressing). This chapter is rather long but hopefully the action in it will keep you hooked. Oh, and I only reviewed this thing once because I was just getting impatient with it so there are probably grammar mistakes, sorry in advance. Well, time to shut up now and let you guys do your thing.**_

Terror griped me in a cold, hard vice grip. I wanted to scream, to run, to just get away from this place as fast as possible. But I couldn't move or (luckily) scream for that matter. I felt something bump up against my leg and managed to turn my gaze from the gruesome sight to see that Shade had joined me on the steps and was motioning for me to follow her. I nodded and was just about to start down the stairs when I heard her voice.

"I will never tell you where she is, not as long as I breathe." Came my mother's voice, defiant yet scared. A sense of loyalty to my family hit me, as well as guilt for attempting to leave my mother behind. Shade looked up me, begging me not to turn back, but I did and I angled myself to see more into the room.

Like the corner where Father lay obviously dead, the rest of the house was torn apart, with the drawers open and things flung out of them. My bed was upturned and the furs that served as blankets were thrown at the far wall, and the sheet of glass that was my mirror had been taken out of the frame and was now pieces on the floor and I could see Elanor's picture in shredded pieces among the shards. Mother herself was in the center of the room, backed against the firepit. Men surrounded her, all dressed in strange dark armor, like the one that the man wore in my dreams, but with matching helmets that covered their faces. They formed a circle around her, with one holding a bloody steel sword up to her throat. A sword, I recognized, was the one father always had hung up on the wall and only took down for my lessons in swordplay once a week.

The one with the sword was laughing. "Lady, I think you don't realize what I'm saying. Look, either you tell us where your daughter is now, or I force it out of you later." Although it was muffled by the helmet, his very masculine voice told me that he was human. I watched with sheer horror as he dug the sword deeper into my mother's throat, making her wince. He turned to someone that I couldn't see.

"Have you found anything yet?" he demanded harshly.

An elven female voice replied, "Nothing here, sir. We're still looking."

"Well, look harder. She must have kept a journal or something. Blast this generation for not writing things down." Said the man with the sword, who I now realized was the leader of these, thieves, assassins? I didn't have a clue. _Well, whoever they are, they sure know what they're looking for, or rather who._ Then another thought crossed my mind. _What do these people want with me? Most of the townspeople might not like me very much, but they've put up with me (and more importantly, my background) and I've never done anything to really make anyone this mad._ An even more horrid thought crossed my mind. _What if Malcolm sent them? He could finally have given up on me and decided that I'm not worth my breath._

"Sir! I've found something!" said an elven man who I couldn't see. The leader looked over at him and somehow a comic image of the man clad in his sinister dark armor waving a small piece of paper high above his head for all to see managed to get into my horror induced mind. The things that fear can do to people. From the shadows, I watched a short man approach the leader and hand him a small folded piece of paper (how did I know that was what he had found?). The man unfolded the letter and read its contents slowly. For a moment, I wondered what it was that he was reading but bending my head a little, I saw that there was a symbol inked into the back of the parchment. A symbol that I had not noticed when I had first read it, due to my excitement making me miss it.

The sound of a whimper jerked me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see that Mother had tried to cross over to the leader. Two men held her arms and forced her back as far as she could go without burning her in the lit fireplace. The man looked up at her in a way to make me think that there was a cruel smile behind his mask.

"Now, now, none of that." He said. Mother stared emotionlessly at him even after he turned back to the note. Suddenly my mother's eyes displayed what seemed to be horror mixed with grief. I quickly realized that she was looking at me. "Run," she mouthed. "Run." In the back of my mind, I felt Shade tug on my dress, insisting that we go. But the sight of the scene in front of me held me in place, with Mother being held captive and Father lying motionless on the ground, eyes vacant and shirt stained the same crimson color that his eyes always were. My throat constricted as bile found its way up, but I managed to keep it down. Eventually the man looked up from reading.

"So, it seems that the brat was inducted to the College of Winterhold. Interesting. Tell, me," the leader turned to Mother who was looking at him with eyes that held such a burning hate that it terrified me, "has the child left yet?"

Mother looked at me pleadingly before answering, "I've told you once before. I'd rather die than tell you anything about my daughter." The man made a small noise of annoyance and then elegantly stepped forward and quickly ran Father's sword against her cheek. I stifled a cry of alarm and her head turned with the blade ax she gasped at the pain. A stream of blood quickly ran down her face, almost like a river that had once been dammed was now being released. Mother looked up at him defiantly, her face showing that she would not be broken so easily. The man shifted his position and crossed his arms, annoyed at this prospect. Meanwhile, Shade managed to nearly pull me down a step and I turned to quietly whisper for her to stop it.

Suddenly Shade yowled and as I tried to muzzle her, a shadow floated out from behind a bush and came over me, its hands grabbing my hair and pressed something thin and sharp against my neck. I fell back into the open doorway and soon found myself standing in standing in front of the intruders, the shadow having been a cloaked figure who now pressed me up against him, with his hand over my mouth and a steel dagger resting on my exposed throat. Looking around the room, I saw that everybody's eyes were on me, and while I couldn't tell the expressions on my captors' faces, Mother's was that of pure fear as tears came to her eyes.

The leader of the group, who had had Father's sword aimed at Mother, now let it fall to his side and walked causally towards me. I tried to break free, but the other man held me in a vice grip. Fear ran coldly though my veins as he reached out his hand and grabbed my chin, studying me like a scholar with some new find. "So, you're the one who's caused us so much trouble. Somehow I thought you'd be older." He said slowly, almost lazily. I whimpered as his hand went up the side of my face and turned my head to the side. His touch was as cold as ice and it felt like it was leaving pricks of ice in my skin, which seemed to burrow into me all the way to my heart. I whined with fear but that only made him laugh at my weakness.

"Stop! Stop it! Leave my daughter alone!" Screamed my mother as she struggled against the men holding her. The man with the sword turned back to my mother, the warmth returning to my face when his hand left me. I watched as he crossed the room to my mother, whose face had lost all its color and was now furiously fighting her captors, and he stood in front of her until she stopped her futile attempts to get free. Once she stopped, he crossed his arms over his chest and then said, "Well, it seems that you won't have to die today. As long as you don't give us any trouble while we take your daughter off your hands." He then turned to head out the door, but Mother wouldn't let him have the last word.

"You bastards! You killed my husband! And now you kidnap my daughter!" She struggled once again. "I won't let you get away with this! Not as long as I live!"

The man looked positively furious. "You insolent woman! All we want is your daughter, nothing more." He cast a quick glance at Father. "Your husband attacked us before we could even have a chance to explain ourselves. When he refused to yield and my men couldn't restrain him, I was forced my hand. It is, "he paused for the right word, "unfortunate that such a strong Dunmer such as him had to die, but he left us with little choice. Besides, your daughter will be treated well, and she will serve a great purpose. You should be honored." He motioned towards the person holding me and he quickly started to push me towards the still open doorway.

But like I said, mother wouldn't let him have the last word. The Altmer woman kicked the captor who held her right arm in the shin, who loosened his grip and thus left the opening that my mother needed to break free. Before the leader could call out a command, Mother summoned lighting which surrounded her hand and then cast streaks of electricity right towards the leader. It hit him squarely in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs, but instead of that being the end of the spell, it then leaped from the man and went right into the one who held me. Shell-shocked, I felt his arms loosen and then fall away as he collapsed the ground and didn't move.

"Mivryna, run!' yelled my mother as the spell started to leap around the room to the rest of the attackers, the effects ranging from simply staggering them to killing them before they could make a sound. "RUN!"

At first my feet wouldn't obey but then I heard Shade cry out to me, her voice pleading, and somehow the fear that held me in place finally allowed me to move. I turned and ran out the door, which was just to my right, but I spared a glance back and for the rest of my life I swear I will never forget what I saw. My mother stood defiantly in front of the leader, who raised his sword with strange calm, as if the dying screams of his comrades meant nothing to him. Mother's left arm had now been freed; the elf that had been holding her was now bleeding heavily and spending his last breaths moaning in pain. Mother charged a lighting spell to attack with, but before she could release it, the leader took Father's sword and promptly thrust it into my mother's stomach, the force of the blow lifting her off her feet. As the sword slid out of her body, her solemn gaze met mine and her last words died on her lips, but I knew what they were.

_Run._ And I did.

I burst through the partly open doorway and into the freezing night; I could hear the leader shouting, "Get her!" and several other commands that I quickly pushed out of my mind. My feet pounded loudly when I reached the cobblestone road and were soon accompanied by my pursuers'. I heard a strange whizzing sound by my head and I looked back to see that a few of the men had stopped and in the dim light that the moon and stars offered, I saw the forms of drawn bows being aimed right at me. _They're trying to shoot me._ The revelation only heightened my fear.

Adrenaline pumping in my veins, I was faster than usual, but each step seemed to last a lifetime. _This is what's it's like to run for your life._ The feeling was terrifying in itself, but I had no time to think on it. I finally lost the men upon reaching the row of abandoned houses and, only wasting a second to think the plan over, ran inside the nearest one and immediately put a chair against the door to stop anyone from coming in. I then ran as deep into the bowels of the house as I could, the fleeting thought that if these people got into the house and started looking for me, I would be trapped only crossed my mind for a second because I had just then reached the final room in the house. And for the third time this day, I knew I would never forget what it was that I saw before me.

I stood in a small hallway, the walls having turned from wood to natural stone (when did that happen?) and a few old rotten barrels stood along the side. The floor was broken up here and there with rubble, some of it seeming ancient and had strange dark patches here and there but they were hard to see in the terrible lighting, although something told me that it would be best if I didn't know. Altogether, it looked slightly that either the house or this hallway had not been there before the other. But the worst part of the scene was that there was a door at the other end of the hallway. A door with a sinister and unfortunately easily identifiable engraving that would make even the most hardened warrior to turn and run like death was upon them. And that was because it was.

I didn't even give the thing another glance as I turned on my heel and ran back up to the ground floor, only to find utter chaos there. _They're burning this place to the ground!_ I thought and had to move quickly to avoid being crushed by a beam that was engulfed in flames. I sprinted headfirst towards the door and with only a second's hesitation, kicked down the door with ease. I heard a rumbling from above and instinct managed to conquer curiosity as I flung myself out of the house right before the entrance came crashing down. I lay on my stomach for only a moment before I heard the leader's voice shouting to keep looking, that I couldn't be far, and to hurry up and set the houses on fire and I watched as a house a little bit down was suddenly engulfed in flames. I got up and sprinted towards the front gates, leaving the main road to take a long way around to avoid detection. In the distance I could hear the screams of people and the horrid thought hit me that they weren't just burning the abandoned houses; they were burning all of Cheydinhal.

My thoughts were interrupted by a strong hand grabbing my arm and jerking me back and up against a tree; my head banging against its thick trunk and making my vision go blurry. I think that all the color drained from my face when I my vision soon cleared and I found myself staring up at none other than the Thalmor Advisor's son, Malcolm.

"Hello, my pretty." He said as he tightened his grip on me, more than likely leaving bruises on my arms. He grinned cruelly and bent down as if kiss me, but I turned my head away before he could get that far. He leaned back to get a better look at me. "Thought you'd leave without saying good-bye, hmm?"

"Let me go! Malcolm, the city is burning; we have to get out of here!" I cried, letting my fear color my voice. I struggled against him for a moment but soon found it futile and he then bent down to whisper in my ear:

"Yes, I know about that, my dear. And who do you think started this terrible fire? Certainly not the one of us who spends her days playing with fire magic, now." He once again moved his head back to look at me, but this time he grabbed my throat and squeezed tightly, produced a steel dagger from a sheath on his hip. "And now you're going to pay!" he screamed, raising the blade to attack. My throat burned with pained as he slowly crushed it in his grip. I closed my eyes to avoid seeing the end, but before pain could bring upon the darkness that would take me from this world, I heard the sound of something whizzing through the air and the breath get knocked out Malcolm. I opened my eyes to see him falling to the ground with a _thud_ and it was then that I caught sight of Ranar standing in front of me, holding a large, seemingly heavy tree branch.

_Ranar _was the single thought that broke through the chaos of my mind. Ranar was Malcolm's younger brother and the least hated of the three children, mostly because he actually left everyone alone. Ranar had been known for his shyness and for rarely leaving the house, and if so, only did so alone. But to me he was no better than his brother and I wasn't about to let him get away with anything. I opened my mouth to say something but it died as soon as he said, Are you all right?" I shut my mouth immediately, not knowing what to say. The boy actually sounded concern.

"I'm fine." I said angrily and for another surprise, Ranar recoiled at the hate in my voice, but he continued on.

"We need to move. The fire's spreading impossibly fast and we need to get out of the city. I think some sort of assassins is here and they're making quick work of anyone that comes near." He said. I looked back towards the city, whose buildings lit up the darkness and its citizens' pierced the night with their screams. For once, my hatred of the Advisor's family died and I just nodded as the both of us quickly sprinted for the front gates. I spared a quick glance at Malcolm's still body. _Good riddance, I say._

Although both of us were obviously tired and the adrenaline that had kept us going throughout the night was dying, we made it to the stables in good time. Outside the walls, the night was only a bit less hectic, with the horses going nuts in their pens and the front door to the stable master's house were open with hearth light pouring out. However, the stable master himself lay completely still in the threshold of the door with a pool of blood spreading from him.

Ranar managed to quiet one of the two black horses in the field and then lead it back towards me. "Get on," was all he said and soon I sat in the saddle, Ranar looking solemnly up at me.

"Where are we going?" was all I could think of to say.

"_You're_ going to get the as far away from this place as possible. _I'm_ going to go back in and see if there are any survivors." He said in a voice that cut off any objections. But that didn't mean I didn't have questions.

"Why are you helping me? Aren't you coming with me? What about your brother or the rest of your family?" the questions seemed to pour out of my mouth.

But Ranar just smiled, one that seemed to light up his features. "Like I said before, I'm going back in to look for survivors. And I heard some of those assassins talking. They want you, nobody else. And after what they did here tonight, I'm not about to let them have anything." His tone sounded like there was more to that then he was letting on. Something passed through his eyes for a moment, but faded as quickly as it appeared. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me down closer to him. "And as for why I'm helping you…" he cut himself off as leaned in and kissed me. At first I was too shocked to do anything, but that quickly faded and soon I started to kiss him back. I made an involuntary whimper and Ranar quickly pulled away and we found ourselves both breathing hard, though I was certain that that wasn't from the fact that we'd spent the night running from madmen.

Just then I heard the sound of what sounded like a puppy. I looked towards the gate to see a small black ball running at us as fast as its little legs could carry it. _Shade!_ Guilt welled up inside me; in all the chaos, I completely forgot about the little thing. Shade ran up to the black horse and starting jumping up and down, barking her sweet little head off. Ranar smiled and picked her up, which prompted a growl from the shadow wolf. "Well, aren't you very nice? All right, all right, get up there and take care of your owner for me, okay? Good." Shade stopped growling and instead looked at Ranar for a moment before sneezing in his face. Ranar actually laughed at that and patted the little thing on the head. He looked up at me with something in his eyes that resembled grief that had been pent up for years. But before I could make sense of what had just recently happened, Ranar walked to the back of the horse and then said, "He's not my brother."

"Huh," I said intelligently, but, then again, I did just watch my family get killed right in front of me and ran through all of Cheydinhal while it was burning to the ground. Not to mention everything else…

"Malcolm. You thought he was my brother." Ranar smiled, "The damn bastard's actually my cousin." And with that, Ranar smacked the horse on its flank and it took off like an arrow, with me using one hand to hold onto for dear life, and the other to keep Shade in place. I naturally got into control of the horse and soon I was steering it through the woods that I'd spent my childhood exploring. After galloping a ways, I reached the top of a small hill and stopped, and looked back at my hometown.

Cheydinhal looked like a battleground, with the whole city up in flames, shining through the darkness of the night with its terrible beauty. In my mind, I could still hear the screams of the people, both commoner and noble alike, now just forgetting their status and trying to flee the chaos before them, but finding little luck. _How many people are dead?_ I wondered. _The flames. They don't look natural. The horrible damage magic can do when not used correctly. It's no wonder that people fear it. They have good reason to._ Shade whined, gently pulling me out of my thoughts. I smiled down at the girl; her eyes reflected the moonlight and made them look like two little torchbugs. Smiling, I took one last glance at my home, now engulfed in flames. _Well, I was going to head to the College sooner or later. Guess it's going to be sooner._ And with that, I spurred the horse onward and to the north, towards Skyrim.

**_A quick side not that I decided to put down here. The next chapter skips forward a year and a half so when it gets posted, please don't go "huh?" on the first few lines and then put in down. I'll explain the events in between this chapter and the next soon into it so just give it a minute, okay. All right. So with that note aside, it's time for me to hang up now. Please review!_**


	7. Chapter 7: The Past in the Present

_**Hey, all! I'm back with Chapter 7 now! I was going to wait until next week to write this one, but it was itching to be done, so here it is a little bit early. In case you didn't read the bottom note in the last chapter, the story skips ahead a year and a half, so don't worry if you're confused. Also, yeah! I got 100 views for chapter 1! And two followers and a favorite! I'm not sure if that is much to be exicted about but then again, I don't expect this story to be all that great when it comes to popularity, but I'm glad to see that you guys have been liking it so far. Unfortunately, even after leaving Cyrodiil, Mivryna isn't anywhere near out of the woods yet, so expect a lot more danger as the story progresses. The good thing about that is that I get to write a lot of fight scenes, I guess. Hopefully I'm not too terrible with that. Well, I've wasted enough of your time with the author's note so I'm going to shut up now and let you all read. Enjoy!**_

I splashed through the shallow river water, looking left and right for any signs of danger; my hands alight with mage fire. The night was clear and the moon shone brightly above. Shade followed close behind me, looking back to see if we had lost our pursuers. Listening, I could hear nothing but the sounds of the forest. Shade, who now looked like she was in her adolescence, pricked up her ears at a sound that only she could hear. Thinking back, I smiled at the memory that my now strong young wolf used to be a fragile little puppy who was afraid of everything and everyone. Shade, who always seemed to know what was on my mind, gave a small growl, telling me to focus. I nodded my understanding and looked around for any signs we'd been followed. There wasn't, but I knew better than to believe it. When we were first attacked, they had come out of nowhere. And I was certain they could do so again.

I ran across the river and was climbing the bank when an elven arrow whizzed past my face, burying itself in the soft mud. I stumbled backward and quickly climbed the steep, slippery banks. Once at the top, I looked back to see Shade on top my attacker, ripping his throat out; the elf didn't even have time to scream. _Shade. You always have my back, girl_ I thought. Shade climbed the bank with ease and we both went into an all-out sprint, hopefully to lose our killers. When they had first attacked, they seemed to be everywhere; but now we realized that that was only a trick; there were only a few. And there was only two or three more left. Hopefully the idiots will realize that although we're out-numbered; they're outmatched and then decide to run back to the hole they crawled out of. Sadly, that was never the case.

We ran until we reached a small clearing in the forest, in which we stopped to look for where else we could go, but arrows pushed us out into the open. I readied my Flames spell and looked into the trees, and at the edge of them, I could see the forms of three people. From their voices, I identified two of them to be men and the other a woman. Shade sped straight at them, only moving to the side to dodge the arrows hurtling at her. The assassins ran out into the clearing as well, shooting their arrows as quickly as they could, but Shade was too fast. She set upon one of them and with practiced ease, tore out his throat before easily dodging the next arrow. Another one took me into his sights and the woman was smart enough to put up her bow and draw a sword. She swung it expertly, causing Shade to be wary of her movements and I could hear her growl from here.

The man closed in on me, launching arrows all the while. I dodged them too easily, practically seeing them coming. I closed in on him and dual casted Flames at him. The man dropped his bow and dodged to the side, quickly drawing an elven sword. He charged from my right, aiming at my neck, but I ducked and, jumping into the air, I flipped backwards, letting my feet hit him on the underside of his chin. With a loud crack, he stumbled back and I set him alight with mage fire before he could recover. He cried out, but didn't scream in agony as most people usually do. The fact that the fire also didn't consume him made me stop and look closer at his face. Pulling down his mask, he revealed himself as a Dunmer. "Dang it" I said under my breath. The only time ever I hate my father's blood is when I'm facing one of them.

The arrogant elf caught my misfortune and laughed. "Hah, your little fire magic won't work against me! I am a proud Dunmer and now I'll –"I cut him off by swiftly stabbing him in the neck with my Elven dagger (first lesson in battle: don't give the big victory speech until _after_ your enemy is dead). As he dropped to the ground I looked over to see that Shade was having trouble getting past the woman's defenses. She kept was swinging the blade at Shade, trying to get in a fatal blow, but Shade dodged her attacks too easily and the woman also wouldn't allow Shade to reach her side or back and blocked any attack to the front. Deciding to end the stalemate, I ran over and once within a good enough range to aim, I shot an ice spike at her (praying that the woman was Dunmer and not Nord). The spell hit her in the shoulder, but she was stupid enough to look over at me running to join the fight. She turned her attention to me and readied herself to face the Frostbite magic pouring from my hands (Hah! I was right; she was a Dunmer). Big mistake. Any smart person would realize that it isn't a good idea to turn away from a snarling wolf that will rip your throat out at its first chance. The whole thing had ended by the time I skidded to a halt at the bloody scene.

As I lowered my hands to extinguish the magic that was still glowing in them, I studied the woman's armor and a shiver ran through me. She was dressed dark brown armor that had by now become all too familiar. After all, it's wasn't hard to forget about the people who not only killed my parents, but also set Cheydinhal on fire and then pursued me even after I had crossed the border into frozen tundra of a province. I shook my head to try and clear the awful memories that had just been aroused and looked to see what the bastards had on them. I found an elven bow and arrows (and alongside her was her elven sword) and the small amount of gold on her. Going through the other two revealed similar loot and so I followed the path back to where Shade had killed the assassin at the river. The same loot, but with a lockpick on him as well. Backtracking to the last few assassins, I found little notable loot (too bad elven weapons don't bring in a lot of gold).

Standing up from looting the last one, I walked out onto the road that we had been traveling before we were attacked. We had gone a little ways before I heard silent footsteps behind me. I turned around and nearly had an elven sword cut me across my chest. _Another assassin! He must have been holding back!_ I had already casted Flames before realizing that the man was probably a Dunmer. All the rest had been. I dodged his sword and moved to his right while Shade leaped to attack him on his left. The elf caught Shade's attack with his sword, so her jaws closed in on his blade instead of his throat. He threw her off and turned to face me but I quickly engulfed him in frost magic. He screamed and, with his movements slowed, it was all too easy for Shade to set upon him. Once Shade got off of the body, I examined for any loot. It was the same as the others and I was about to carry on when I noticed a small pocket over his heart. Searching it revealed a folded piece of paper, which I then unfolded and read the message written in expert handwriting:

_ Galos,_

_Your instructions are to bring me the Altmer-Dunmer hybrid Mivryna Faryon alive. After several failed attempts, I am sending you personally to capture her. Failure is not an option. Approach the elf with caution; although she is not heavily armed, she is very dangerous and a formidable adversary. She fights with fire or frost magic, but is armed with a dagger of some kind as a secondary weapon. She is not physically strong; you should have no trouble subduing her, but is quick and agile and will not hesitate to kill. She is clever in combat so do not think to trick her easily. Another note of caution: the child keeps a shadow wolf she has named Shade as a constant companion. Should you confront her in the wilds, expect to contend with the wolf as well. You are allowed to exterminate the wolf but beware; the girl is protective and will seek revenge. Use this knowledge and anything else you need to bring her to me._

_ Be cautious dear brother. Mivryna is a powerful nightblade and I do not wish to hear of your death. Although the child wanders the province, she has appeared near Solitude recently and it is assumed that she will remain in the area for some time. Remember: I do not mind if she is harmed but I will __**not **__accept her being killed upon her capture. She is to be brought __**alive**__ to our hideout immediately after being subdued. Should she be killed, you and those under your charge shall be punished severely. Succeed, brother, and you will be rewarded well._

_Dralas Zenammu_

A cold chill crept over me. _She is to be brought alive. Alive._ That last word kept repeating through my mind, becoming eerier the longer I thought about it. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the thought, but to no avail. Beside me, Shade growled menacingly. No one was around, but no doubt my fear showed clearly on my face. Although she didn't know what the note said, she understood enough about me to figure out what it meant (sometimes I wonder if Shade is too smart for her own good). _This Dralas Zenammu sounds like the leader of these people. Now I have a name, but nothing else. Well, at least he's smarter than the people he sends out after me; the others have been total idiots so far. They all attack with the same strategy with little change. But how did they know so much about me? How I fight, where I was (that's actually a lot harder than most people would think; especially if only a few people here know your name). And Shade_.

I looked at her. She was staring at me intently, her eyes portraying her protectiveness, her loyalty. She wouldn't hesitate to die for me, just as I wouldn't hesitate to die for her. After everything that had happened in the year and half we'd known each other, the two of us found that the other one was the only thing that we really cared about. And to Oblivion with them if they think that I was going to let anyone hurt Shade, for any reason. As anger replaced curiosity, I wondered what the man/elf could want with me. The letter didn't tell me much (which was rather clever of them for a change). Rereading it, I found that the only information that was written were things that I already knew, besides the name of their leader and the fact that he didn't want me killed. _Which is something that I can use to my advantage, if the right situation arises_ I thought. Glancing at the name, I wondered if this Galos might be something worth investigating. Dralas Zenammu certainly was. _Who knows what kind of rumors are out there. Surely there must be _something_ on these people. Well, whoever they are, at least it's not the Dark Brotherhood. It's not the same armor, unless a wardrobe change is on the agenda. _

Smiling to myself at that last thought, I got up and turned to the south. Snow was falling gently out of the sky but in this summer weather (or what passed as summer anyway) snow didn't usually stick to the ground, and for that I was grateful. Walking back, I thought about whom in Skyrim might know anything about my supposed kidnappers. _This kind of information is not exactly something honest people talk about. The only way I'm going to get anywhere with this is if I talk to someone who knows more about shadowy organizations. Perhaps I could find someone in Solitude who knows more. But I doubt it. Not a lot of people who would deal with things like that. Maybe someone in Riften. I heard that was where you went to find shady people. But it'll probably cost me. And I don't exactly have my pockets full of coin right at the moment._ Figuring I should get some road behind me while it was still night, I got up and folded the note into my knapsack. I walked down the stone road, my memories drifting back to me.

Ever since the night of my fourteenth birthday, everything had gone wrong. I had raced across the Cryodiil landscape, not even stopping in towns or cities for food, although I had no money anyway. I managed to make it into the Jerall Mountains with just the occasional wolf or bear along my path. Unfortunately, I was caught in the winter snowstorms which made it impossible to see three feet in front of me. Things got even worse when my horse caught his foot and broke his leg (curse Skyrim and its rocky terrain). Luckily, I was saved from putting him out of his misery when a bear decided to come along. After making it out of the mountains barely alive, I then began the long trek across this cold-hearted province with little help from about anyone (the Nords and their infamous hatred of outsiders proceeds them; why was I not surprised. Guess it didn't help when I asked for directions to Mages' College).

When I finally made to the Collage I was tired, hungry, and looked like I went through Oblivion and back. The Gatekeeper, an Altmer named Faralda, was welcome enough but without the letter that proved that they had already inducted me, I was forced to take the entry test all over again (I nervous enough about it the first time and then I had to do it again?!).

I passed easily and soon excelled at my studies, forming a liking to the schools of Destruction, Conjuration, and Alteration, not to mention that my skill with enchanting weapons and armor was growing fast. I made new friends, got some new gear, and found a sort of sanctuary in the College and its people.

But life has a way of catching up to me. One night I headed out to the inn to meet up with some of my fellow students and the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by the assassins who had killed my parents. I managed to wound one of them with the dagger I started to keep on my person, but things just went downhill when one of my fellow apprentices had come to check out the commotion. One quick slash across her throat, and then they were gone. It didn't help when one of the guards came, and all he saw were a dead body and me standing over her with blood on my blade. It was like fleeing Cheydinhal all over again. I haven't set foot in the Winterhold province since.

During my stay at the Nightgate Inn, a thief had managed to steal my satchel, and with it any chance of survival. Without any way to find something to eat, I soon passed out after three weeks on the streets of Windhelm. When I awoke, I was greeted by an Altmer who called himself Linwe, who gave me a deal: either I could starve to death on the streets, or I could join him and his guild of thieves called the Summerset Shadows. Not wanting my body to just be tossed into the river by a bunch of guards, I joined and Linwe taught me the art of larceny, and then later assassination. Both my skill with a blade and magic improved greatly, and I strangely proved to be a natural sneak, and I excelled in most of my lessons, despite the fact that Linwe was a very strict teacher.

But I was never happy with the guild and didn't agree with most of Linwe's methods. Unlike our rival, the infamous Thieves Guild, Linwe liked to kill his marks and then steal off their bodies. Although my training had lowered my mortality, I couldn't understand why any thief would kill someone just to steal from them. That, and Linwe had proven himself to be little more than a power-hungry tyrant; he didn't care how good an idea was, if it wasn't his, we didn't follow it and his all too frequent attacks on the roads worried the rest of us that we were trying to take on more than we could handle, especially since common sense told us that the Thieves Guild wouldn't like the idea of having an enemy. And true to our word, when Linwe finally stole from the wrong person, an agent from our supposedly weak rival came in full-force and slaughtered everyone with complete ease. I remembered that night all too well.

Linwe and I had been arguing about my loyalty to the Shadows and it quickly escalated into a full-on fight to the death. We fought with magic first and then with our blades, his ebony sword and my elven dagger. He had gotten past my defense and stabbed me in the shoulder and was just about to finish me off when an arrow pierced his throat, and killed him instantly. I had looked toward the doorway to see a man dressed in the armor of the Thieves Guild. I expected him to shoot me as well but he just walked over and examined my shoulder. He told me that he had heard the argument and decided to give me a second chance. He handed me small healing potion and asked for the location of some locket, which I gave willingly. Then he told me to get out of here, to run and never return to this place. I had just nodded and together, Shade and I left the hideout (which was some place called Uttering Hills Cave) and we never went back.

Ever since then, the both of us have put our lessons to good use and we now steal food or anything that could pay for a meal. Now, with no one else to turn to, we have no choice but to rely on each other and hope that the two of us can find way to keep the both of us alive. We do whatever it takes, whether it's stealing for food, or killing someone who gets in our way, we don't hesitate now. They say that Skyrim is a cold, hard, dangerous place and I've learned that you have to be all of those things to survive here. And now with the threat of the assassins who killed my parents looming over me like the Throat of the World, I know that I have to take the fight to them somehow. And the both of us plan to do that, one way or another.


	8. Chapter 8: The Fires of Battle

**_And here is Chapter 8 on this fine day! This one is a little long just so you know. Rereading my other author's notes, I realize that I should probably give you guys a bit of a background since this story kind of has its own path. Well, the first thing you should all know is that the year is 4E 205 (203 in the first six chapters) which means that the main story line has already been completed. Basically, the Dragonborn turned out to be some random Nord who went throught the main quest line and killed Alduin but also lost his own life in the process. Also, the Civil War is over with the Imperials winning (sorry Stormcloak lovers) and most other quests have been completed by other people some of them you will meet. Well, any more information you'll need to understand what's going on will come in these author notes when we get there. Hopefully I can stop making these parts so long and let you all read. Well, signing off until next chapter. Hope you like this one!_**

Solitude. The capital of Skyrim had (and still was) always been my favorite city, whether it was because the cool ocean air that blew over the place and chased away the bitter cold that always pervaded the rest of the province, or all the shops and market stalls busy advertising their wares. Either way, I had quickly grew fond of the place and its people and found myself coming back here often, almost to the point where the residents started to recognize me.

I stood just inside the gates, wondering what to do first. _The tavern is should be open, but I could head over to the market stall and see what they got. Need to find something to eat before everyone else gets out of bed and it becomes harder to avoid being seen. Sky's lighting up too so that could be a problem._ So with that knowledge pushing me further, I calmly walked past The Winking Skeever and the other stores to the stalls that were set a bit from the main road and around the large covered well. Making sure no guards were passing by, I got into a crouch as I neared the stall just as Shade got into her position behind the well to keep lookout. I crept behind each stall and took some fish from one and a few vegetables from the other. I ignored the third stall as it only really sold spiced wine (the last thing on my mind is distorting my mind with drink and getting into trouble that could easily be avoided) and quickly met up with Shade, after which the two of us quietly climbed up a few rocks and ate our meal in silence, watching as the sky lightened to day and people started to head out for work.

As the sun rose higher into the sky, a cool breeze swept into the city and I was glad my clothes prevented the chill from seeping very deep. Looking down, I realized that I must look like a wreck to people; my old and familiar Apprentice Robes of Destruction that had been a gift from a friend at the Collage before I got expelled (no doubt the Collage would ever let me back in after what happened) and matching hood were worn and tattered from both battle and age; my black boots that I had looted off a rogue mage were holding up a bit better, but were caked with dried grass and dirt. My hair itched from where it had not been washed in a while and the layer of sweat that had built during this morning's battle did not help at all. I leaned back against the stone wall and I could feel the chain of my necklace shift into a new position. A whisper of a smile came to my lips at the memory that it had been a birthday gift, as well as the sapphire ring on my finger. The two pieces of jewelry were the only thing that reminded me of my parents and also bitterly made me remember why I was in Skyrim in the first place.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and headed over to The Winking Skeever, giving a small nod to the drunken old man who stood by the door. The air inside smelled warmly of mead and was well lit from the fireplace. I walked over to the bartender, an Imperial by the name of Corpulus Vinius. I sat down at one of the bar stools, with Shade lying down next to it. Corpulus was arguing with his eldest son, Sorex, over something about 'getting the delivery done' which gave me a moment to look around the place. It was the usual Solitude style building, having been modeled by the buildings in Cryodiil due to the Empire's influence here, so there wasn't much to see, although I did notice the stuffed head of a skeever hanging behind the counter, which brought to mind the story the owner had told me when I had asked about the name once.

"Why, hello! Welcome to The Winking Skeever! Can I help you with something?" asked the bartender when he finally caught sight of me.

"Uh yes, I was just wondering what the latest rumors were." I said, making my voice sound polite and trying to hide any exhaustion.

"Yes, ma'am, I sure do, although there isn't much. Mostly just the whispers of the Aretino boy still trying to do the Black Sacrament." He said it in a whisper, like an assassin was going to pop out and shoot him for just saying that. I tried not to roll my eyes. Almost everyone had heard that rumor. Some boy escapes from Honorhall Orphanage and now is trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood. I honestly wished that the kid would just give it up after all these years or the guards finally do something about it (which they probably won't; as usual, none of the have the backbone to do anything besides wield a sword against an unarmed pickpocket or complain). "Unfortunately I don't think there's much someone like you can make use of." Continued Corpulus.

"Doesn't matter. I just wanted to see what the word around town was." I said this nonchalantly, hoping maybe he would not care who I was and tell me what I wanted to know. Luckily, he did.

"Well, there were some men in some interesting looking armor that came in here late last night. They had a drink, talked, and then left. Some guards say they were headed up into the mountains, but I have no idea why. All I can say is that I'm glad they didn't stick around."

This caught my attention. "You said they wore interesting armor. What do you mean?" I studied his face to see if what he would say was a lie or not.

"Well, it completely hid their faces and it looked to be made of some sort of leather and bone. Probably some of that strange elf armor or something. All I know is that they weren't from around here." I suppressed a shiver. That described the assassin's armor all right. I questioned him further and asked if he knew had any idea as to who Galos or Dralas Zenammu were, but he didn't. I sighed to myself. Although they could have been a little more discreet, all it told me was that they had gone and gotten a drink before they attacked me (so before these people went out to do a very important mission, they decide to go and get drunk. Great). Seeing that I wasn't going to order anything, the owner went to finish cleaning the place to be ready from some actual costumers. I swirled a small flame on my finger, despite the wary looks that everyone in the bar was giving me. _So what now? Well, I could go to Riften, but I have no idea who to go to for this kind of information. Maybe I could try the inns in other cities and leave Riften as a last resort? Eh, it's worth a shot._

I headed out of city and down the path to the carriage at the crossroads. It was there I walked up the driver and asked, "Excuse me, sir, but could you take me to the nearest city from here?"

"Why certainly. The nearest city from here is Markarth, deep in The Reach. Do you want to go?" he inquired, but before I could respond, two people called out. I looked back to see a man and a woman running towards us, arms raised and yelling for us to stop (I haven't even paid the man yet). The man came to a halt by the carriage and had to bend over to catch his breath (he ran slower than a stinking cow and the distance was from Solitude to here. I may not be the best runner, but I can run that distance and more and barely feel it and _he's_ the one doubling over). The woman looked equally tired (seriously people, get out more) but managed to say, "Sir, we need to hire your carriage. We're going to Markarth." The woman said shortly, as if this left no room for argument. The man, who I suspected was her husband, finally stood up and turned to her.

"Agata, I _told_ you that we needed to leave! Look! The carriage was about to take off!" His voice had quite a bit of arrogance in it and I noticed that he was wearing nobleman clothes. Perfect.

"Well, _husband_, I wanted to look at the stores before we left to bring something for my brother because you _know_ the worm is going to expect _something_ and I would've looked earlier, but _someone_ had to wait until the last minute to pack. Oh no! I forgot my jewelry! I must go back!" Her voice got squeaker the more frantic she got and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. But her husband shook his head. "We can't go back for that now and besides; you don't need that junk anyway."

Agata looked like her husband had turned into a dragon and flown off. "Sond! My jewelry is not junk! It is fine priceless Nord craftsmanship! It's worth more than that elf over there, for sure!" Upon hearing this, I raised my eyebrows and leaned against the back of the carriage.

"Um, excuse me, so sorry to interrupt your conversation, but were you going to hire the driver or not?" My voice sounded as sweet as honey, but with the edge of a sharp-tipped dagger behind it. The woman looked as if I had slapped her. Lovely. She acted just like Malcolm's sister, Medora. Oh, the twisted little thoughts running through my head.

"Why you indigent little elf! I could have you-" I was spared the woman's tirade by the driver. "Miss, the young lady is right. You're holding me up. Markarth did you say you was goin'? Miss, didn't you say that's where you were going too?" The driver tried to sound polite, but I could hear the annoyance in his voice.

"Yes, actually. But is it all right if Shade comes along?"

The woman gasped as if I had just committed an unthinkable crime. "You're bringing that _animal_!?" she said and turned to the driver. "You can't just let her bring this-this beast along? I won't allow it!" She looked at Shade as if she was the most revolting thing she'd seen in her life. The shadow wolf in question was just looking down at the ground at some bug that had caught her attention in an attempt to act like a perfectly harmless dog. Well, it convinced the driver.

"Well, I suppose the dog can come along as long as he's harmless." Said the driver while Shade used her front two paws to attack the bug but upon lifting it, discovered that she had missed.

"Thank you, sir, I promise you that she is perfectly tame." I turned to the woman. "And don't worry; I usually keep Shade _very_ well-fed." I said as anger crept into my voice and I knew I needed to control my temper. The woman just stuck up her nose and delicately climbed into the carriage as if it were barbed. I paid the driver and quickly climbed on board; Shade immediately followed me up and lay down beside me with a huff. The man soon followed after us and sat down beside his wife and looked at me like I was some annoying insect. I hoped his face got stuck like that.

* * *

The ride was like a slow torture. The couple kept arguing over the stupidest things, complained about going too slow, the fact that it was cloudy, and even Shade (they had even suggested she get off and follow the carriage on foot. Like that was going to happen). Meanwhile, I had taken the liberty of looking around at the growing mountainous landscape. The huge mountains that soon surrounded us seemed to take me back to my days wandering the Valus Mountains back in Cheydinhal. I tried to keep my mind on the happier times, but the screams and lights of the fire threatened to force my thoughts into the deeper, darker parts of my memories.

"Hey you indigent little elf!" I was jolted out of my thoughts by the sound of the nobleman sitting across from me. "Hey you! Are you listening?" From the look on his face I would have guessed that he'd been trying to get my attention for a while, but then again, the Nord did seem to have a short temper.

"Sorry, sir. I was thinking to myself. What were you saying?" I asked politely.

"Of course you weren't listening, you damn elf! Your kind lives so long yet never has the time to listen to a Nord like me. Well, get off your high horse and listen up! I have something to say to you and you'd better listen! Now I asked you why you were going to Markarth." I was really starting to hate the man. He reminded me of the Edwendir and his family, and how they always thought that things should be their way. Anger rose inside me as I realized that this man was acting exactly like them. And I wasn't about to let someone belittle me like this.

I straightened up. "My reason for going is not yours to know and I am not in the mood for sharing."

"You elves think that you can do whatever you want. It's sickening. " the woman spat at me.

"Hah! You're probably going on some official Thalmor business." Said the man

Fury rose at the gravity of this accusation. "How dare you! I have no sympathy for the Thalmor or anyone who sides with them." I said fiercely.

"Don't think you can lie to me, you stupid elf. You and your Thalmor dogs have taken countless men, women, and children just because they worshipped Talos! And they have a right to do so! And one day, someone will rise up and continue what Ulfric Stormcloak started! We will take out that traitorous Empire and win back our freedom! And then we will knock all you elves out of our land right after you pay for your murderous deeds. Don't think you can use your little magic and hide from your fate. I see the blood on your hands, the crimes you've committed. You'll pay one day elf. Soon you and all of your kind will pay." His voice was murderous, like he would be the executioner. Shade growled dangerously, warning the nobleman to watch his words if he didn't want her to take care of the situation, but he ignored her. My face felt as hot as my anger and for a brief moment, I was sure I was going to draw my dagger and slit his throat right then and there.

"You have no right to say such things! You base me off people who I hate just as much as you, maybe even more!" I yelled, unable to hold it in any longer. I couldn't take it anymore. I was tired of them treating me like I was less than them. _I'm tired of being walked over. Malcolm and his family did this throughout my whole life, and now these darn Nords are doing it. Well, if they want to be like that, then fine! But I'm not just sit here and take it!_

"Like that isn't the worst lie that you could come up with." The nobleman called Sond said. "All you elves are with the Thalmor! You can't lie to me! You all want Skyrim for yourselves! Well, it won't work, I tell you. You'll never have her! Not as long as there is a single Nord alive."

Ok, enough was enough. I was _not_ about to let them judge me like this. So I threw off my hood, revealing my dark brown hair. "Well, sir, since you know so much about the Thalmor, you must also know that they hate hybrids. Especially ones with their own blood. And that they would kill me just for being what I am. So next time you think of calling someone out, think about whom it is you're talking to." I said, my voice sounding strong with very little anger coloring it. The man's face turned scarlet. He opened his mouth to speak when a roar sounded overhead. Everyone looked up at the noise and we all saw a large brown dragon that had us dead in its sights.

The woman screamed, calling for her lump-of-a-husband to do something (her words, not mine) and the man yelled at the driver to get us out of here (duh). The horse reared up and bolted, nearly sending all of us out of the carriage and making us hold on for dear life. Shade stood and kept her eye on the beast, which spat a stream of fire where we just were. I thought of summoning magic, but was unsure what would work against a dragon. The dragon quickly caught up to us, roaring and coming in low to attack. It dived, breathing fire at the side of the carriage, trying to get us to run into the mountain on our left. The couple screamed for someone to do something.

"Throw that elf and her beast out! They'll distract the monster long enough for us to get away!" screamed the woman at the top of her lungs. I was about to object to the plan (and suggest that they throw themselves out) when the carriage tried to round a turn. But at the speed it was going it took it too wide and the back skidded off onto the bank of the river; the force of it caused all four of us to be dumped out of the carriage and onto the bank, with the dragon still right on our tails.

The man and woman ran out onto the road, calling the driver back, but I could see that he had lost control of his horse, and knew we were on our own. I was about to call after them to get off the road (a flat open road with nothing to hide behind is really the last place you want to be when trying avoid being killed by a _dragon_) but it was too late. The creature flew down to hover next to the couple and before they could run, it engulfed them in his fire. Their screams lasted a second before the dragon closed his jaws and the burnt remains of the two snobby rich Nords fell to the ground.

I tried to get as close to the ground as possible so I could hopefully lose the dragon and he would fly off (a pathetic plan really, but then again, it was better than the nobles'), but to no avail. I barely had time to hear Shade's warning before I had to roll, fire replacing my spot almost immediately. I got up and ran onto the road, trying to think of a solution. But turning around, I saw the dragon had vanished. I looked around, knowing it wouldn't leave just like that, when a shadow passed over me and I had to throw myself away before its weight crushed me(of all the places on this stupid road it could have landed, it _had_ to pick the spot that was currently occupied). I quickly dodged its attempt to snap at me and filled my palms with Flames. I saw Shade growling from the river bank, looking for a place to land a blow.

I shot my spell at it, causing it to hiss in rage. I continued the stream, backing up all the while but he just followed me (dang, he was fast in the air and on the ground). When he raised his head to breathe fire, I quit the spell and ran to one side. Unfortunately that side had a huge mountain in the way (this is why I hate the Reach) and I was glad for my agility as I ran up the side of the mountain, running along the walls with nothing to hold me to them. A sudden spark of an idea came to me and I jumped from the side. But the dragon turned its head and I flew right through the stream of fire (thank the gods for me being at least half Dunmer) and landed on the creature's back before I had time to scream.

The dragon roared its fury at me, obviously ticked that its prey managed to get on top of it and tried to shake me off. I managed to get off my hands and knees and stand up, only to have the dragon shake me harder and force me down again. He turned around to face me and I jumped onto his head as he started to breathe fire. His roar seemed deafening in my ears as his own fire hit him and he shook his head violently to throw me off and I only managed to hold on by grabbing his horns. The thing streamed fire and noise as it franticly tried to throw me, and he almost did, until Shade bit him on the wing. The dragon hissed and turned his attention towards Shade and opened his mouth to ignite her. _I don't think so_ I thought as I pulled out my dagger and drove it into his head.

He roared his rage and lifted his head to shake me off, blood pouring from the wound and running down his face, now getting in his eyes and mouth. When he leveled out his head, I let go of the dagger and stood up, palms alight with my own fire. I cast them down at his head, making his roar truly deafening then. I saw Shade slink down to the bank and then I waved my hands down the creature's back and then bent down to shoot it into his eyes. He continued to scream until I was nearly out of magicka, and started to lower his head. I jumped off to use the last of my magic to shoot it right at his face when his wing came around, its claws aimed at me. I just had time to turn around and felt pain lance through my arm, right below the shoulder. The force made me lose my balance and I landed hard on my butt with a gasp.

Seeing his chance to end this, the dragon lifted his head and prepared to breathe a final stream of fire, but I was quicker. I charged and casted a single Firebolt right into his mouth, causing the dragon to choke and release his own attack too early and he screamed as smoke and fire blew out his mouth and nose and blood appeared in his eyes. I watched the dragon scream its last breathe and then collapse to the ground, blood pouring out its head. For a while I just sat there breathing hard with one thought on my mind: _I just killed a dragon. I just killed a freaking dragon!_

Shade came over and studied me, worried that I might not be able to get up. I was unsure of what had her so worried until I remembered my arm and I looked down at it and saw that the dragon had left a huge gash that bled heavily. I quickly cast a small Restoration spell that managed to stop the bleeding but didn't close the wound. _Dang it! Why can't I be any good in Restoration?_ Focusing on the matter at hand, I quickly tied a linen cloth I had in my knapsack and bandaged the wound as tightly as I could and quickly got to my feet and smiled at Shade when she still looked at me worriedly. But she was right. I needed to see a healer. But in the Reach, the only possible healers are the mages of the Forsworn and I knew I didn't want to run into them (I already nearly had my arm ripped off; didn't need to make it worse by running into people who can hack and slash me to bits) so that left Markarth as the closest possible place for a friendly face. _And the best part is that I don't know where it is or how to get there. Well, I guess the best route would be to try and follow the carriage and hope that someone was generous enough to put signs in the middle of nowhere._ So with Shade in the lead, we started down the long road to Markarth.


	9. Chapter 9: The City of Stone

**_And now it's time for chapter nine! Not much to say, other than direct dialogue is used in this chapter and hopefully throughout the rest of the story. Also, a side note: I always reviewed the chapter in my Word Document so I never knew that FanFiction takes away the little symbols that I used for when I skip ahead a little in the story. After unsuccessfully trying to get the symbols to show up, I instead just put a boring old line in place of it. Oh, well. At least I know that it'll stay there. I'll be putting those line in with my preivous chapters so they are easier to read. Sorry for any confusion!_**

Markarth amazed me with its size. It looked like a fortress on the outside. A Dwemer fortress to be exact. The walk through the mountains had been confusing so it took me the whole day to find the stupid city, so the sky was now an eerie twilight when I reached the place. I heard snorting and looked to my left to see the stables. Studying them, I thought that it was odd for them to be made of stone and also be so open. _You know how easy it is for thieves to steal those horses. Pretty darn easily. At least you had the sense to have a guard tower beside it! _ The design seemed even more stupid when I realized that the stable owner's front door was _in the actual stables!_ The man must be devoted to his work, I guess.

"Hey, you looking to buy a horse?" asked a gruff voice. I looked to see a Breton man standing with his arms crossed at me. "Or did you want a war dog, although I doubt it since you have that wolf with you."

"Uh, no, I wasn't planning on buying a horse and I think I'll stick to having Shade as a partner, thanks. Actually I was headed into Markarth." I said as I watched Shade sniff the war dog as if it was something she'd never encountered before while the dog just looked lazily on at her as if she wasn't treating him like he wasn't even alive.

"Yeah, I noticed, since I never saw you go in. And it gets pretty boring out here so I notice everyone who goes through. You're looking for a healer, aren't you?" He asked.

"How did you know that?" I asked, looking down at my arm.

The man smiled. "You didn't hide the bandage very well. It's peeping out through the sleeve. But as for a healer, you can try the local apothecary, The Hag's Cure. Bethola isn't the friendliest person, but she can come up with a cure for something almost anything. But I'd try the priestesses at the temple of Dibella first."

"Thanks for the tip." I turned to leave when he said "Hey! Would you do me a favor and deliver this spiced beef up to Voada? She's in Understone Keep and I'm sure she'd pay you."

"Sure thing, Voada right?"

"Yeah, and don't let your wolf get to the beef. It's for the dogs." He handed me the beef and Shade immediately came over to sniff it. But after catching the scent, Shade gave a startled bark and backed away, eyes wide and ears flat against her head, as if it had tried to bite her. I looked at the beef, wondering what could be in it to make Shade freak out like that? She eats about anything that came from an animal. But I just shrugged and said to the man "I don't think that will be a problem."

"Good. By the way, the name's Banning." He said. I nodded and hurried off to the gates, wanting to get Shade away from the man, which she had started watching as if he would explode. I had just reached the front gates and was putting my hand on the door when a guard turned to me.

"First time in Markarth, traveler? Take my advice. You see anything, don't get involved. The city guard will take care of it." Something about the tone of his voice sounded like he was suspicious of me, like he_ knew_ I was going to cause trouble or something. And I didn't like it. But I figured that it wouldn't be a good idea to go to jail before I even got past the doors, so I held back the retort that was on my tongue and instead followed the small bit of curiosity that his words implied.

"Is there some problem in the city?" I said with honest curiosity. But the guard just glared at me through the small eye sockets of his helmet.

"See, there you go. Getting involved. Don't ask too many questions in Markarth. Safer for everyone that way. Head on in. Keep your clean, and you won't have any problems with us." The guard seemed pretty ticked now, but I just shrugged and walked right in like I didn't care what he said. I think I heard him curse something about elves but never managed to hear him as I was too busy looking at the inside of the huge city in front of me. The City of Stone seemed like an enormous expanse of stone with a river running through it and I could see walkways leading to higher levels. _Great. This place looks just like a Dwemer ruin. Big with several twists and turns. Well, I hope the people here are willing to give directions._ My train of thought was broken when I heard the familiar sound of a dagger being quietly unsheathed. I looked to see a man in miner's clothes creep up to a woman who was looking at the jewelry stall. When I saw that he was about to stab her, my mind kicked into action.

"Look out!" I yelled as I sent a Firebolt straight at the attacker. The woman screamed as the man attempted to attack, but he was stopped when my spell hit him in the back. "The Reach belongs to the Forsworn!" he yelled before he died, and fell to the ground in a clump, his skull cracking against the stall. Quickly a cry of "By the Divines, the Forsworn are here in the city!" rang throughout the market place and panic soon started to spread.

"Everyone stay back. The Markarth city guards have this all under control. There are no Forsworn here." A guard came up and started shooing everyone out of the market place. I spotted the woman who had been attacked and headed over toward her. "Are you alright?" I asked calmly, as she looked like a scared deer.

"By the gods, that man nearly killed me. You saved my life. Thank you. Here, I was going to bring this to my sister, but I think you should have it." She handed me a silver emerald necklace. I studied the piece to confirm its authenticity (a woman in cheap farm clothes being able to afford such an expensive piece of jewelry is a little sketchy) and found it to be real. I nodded my thanks and, hiding my excitement over now holding what seemed to be a fortune to me, walked over to the now dead would-be assassin, which Shade was studying carefully.

"We'll handle things from here. Move along." Said the guard when I came near.

"That man shouted something about the 'Forsworn'" I told the guard, wondering why one of those barbarians would possibly attack someone in broad daylight. But the guard looked like I had just spit on his face. "I said move along. The Forsworn are just a bunch of madmen. We have everything under control. Stay out of it."

Now I was thoroughly annoyed. The guards acted like they can tell me what to do and even pull off the worst lies and expect me to believe them. And right now I was _really_ tired of getting pushed around, what with the two Nords from the carriage and their prejudice against me thinning my temper already and now with this I decided that enough was enough.

"Really. Well, next time there's a murder in the streets and I know something, don't expect me to be of any help." And I made the effort of stepping over the body and getting in the guard's way before stomping up the path. I could practically hear him scowling behind me.

"Bloody enough for you, outsider." Said a rough voice. I turned to see a Nord in studded armor and a steel warhammer strapped to his back. He seemed like one of those people who just wanted to kill everybody he saw.

"Excuse me?"

"Markarth. Is it bloody enough for you?" He stared at me coldly, as if I actually was some criminal (well, I steal food but I don't think that really counts too much.)

"Are you threatening me?" I asked, eying his warhammer suspiciously.

"If I was threatening you, believe me, you'd know it. You outsiders never learn. If the Forsworn don't get you, the guards will throw you in Cidna Mine to work your fingers off. Think that's water in the river? Blood and silver is what runs through Markarth, friend. "

"What do you mean by 'blood and silver?" I asked partly wondering why I hadn't walked away then. Like everyone else, he was rude almost to the point of being aggressive. But then again, isn't that what everybody's trying to do?

"It's right there in the name of the most powerful family in Markarth. The Silver-Bloods. They have a whole mine filled with prisoners to dig up silver ore, gets smelted by workers they pay, and they own half the city. I work for them. The inn is named after them. When the guards make an arrest, they check with them first." He said half prideful, half in a tone that made it sound like I should already know this. I started to walk away and up the steps behind him, but he turned and said, "Hey outsider, just remember that it's blood and silver that flows through Markarth."

"Really then. So which one pays for the other?" I called from my vantage point from up the stairs. The man looked as if I'd slapped him, but the shock was quickly erased, as if it was never there.

"Welcome to Markarth, outsider."

* * *

After visiting the priestesses in the Temple of Dibella, who had patched up the wound without a question, I decided to look around and found it to be as much as a maze as a Dwemer ruin. I decided to get something to eat and so soon both Shade and I were sitting by the fireplace waiting on our meal, since that selling the silver and emerald necklace allowed me to actually afford not only a meal, but also a night at the local inn, the Silver-Blood Inn (conveniently named after the richest family in this stupid city; what are the odds). I found it difficult to stay in Markarth, what with everybody in town looking like I was going to draw a dagger on them. I always hated towns and cities where the residents suspect everything you do(you spend _one_ day sleeping at the inn in Morthal because you walked the whole night there and suddenly you're a bloody vampire. Sheesh).

While I was waiting, someone had asked the bard, a Nord by the name of Ogmund who wore leather armor and had eyes that were two different colors and who looked more like a warrior than a bard, to play a song and soon the room was filled with requests and people singing along. I had never minded the Nord's music; it was rather different from the Cyrodiilic music I'd grown up listening to and the Altmeri and Dunmeri songs that my parents had passed down from their childhood.

"Here is a song about that we all know and love. May his soul rest forever in Sonvegarde" rang out Ogmund's voice as he started singing. "_Alduin's wings, they did darken the sky. His roar fury's fire, and his scales sharpened scythes…_"

"A sad tale, that one." Said a voice beside me. I turned to see a Redguard looking at me, with a thick dark brown beard and a hat that covered his head.

"What?" I asked.

The man looked at me harder, squinting away the light from the flames behind me and said, "I said it's a sad tale, isn't it. But I guess you don't hear much of the events happening in Skyrim in Summerset, do you?" The name 'Summerset' sent chills up my spine (I disliked the name for more than one reason). Shade straightened up and barked once. I turned to her to see that our food had arrived. I handed Shade the beef I had ordered for her and then dug into my horker stew.

"I've been in Skyrim for about a year and a half now, though I've never really looked into Skyrim's history." I said between bites of stew. _Yeah, because I'm too busy running from a group of assassins that nobody knows about._

"Well, I may not be a Nord, but I do remember the day the Dragonborn came to Skyrim. Ah, those were bloody times for everyone. I, for one, am glad that those times are behind us, even if our hero lost his life."

I looked at him oddly. "Dragonborn? I've heard of the name before, but I don't quite know the story."

The Redguard smiled sadly. "Ah yes, I think you could get the story from almost any Nord. The Dragonborn was a Nord who could use an ancient magic called the Voice. He came around when the dragons started appearing. Legend has it that the Dragonborn could steal the souls of dragons and use their power. I don't know all the details, but I do know that it was the Dragonborn's destiny to slay the black dragon Alduin. The hero went all the way to Soverngarde to stop him. Unfortunately, the Dragonborn lost his life to the great worm."

"So he defeated the dragon, but lost his life in the process?" Thinking on it, I realized that must have been some Nord to have known that in order to stop his greatest foe, he'd lose his life doing it.

"Yes, the Dragonborn is long dead. Died nearly four years ago. The whole event is called the Dragon Crisis. There are still dragons here in Skyrim, but they rarely attack anymore. People believe that possibly the Blades are managing to chip away at their numbers, but I think they've just decided to stop attacking. I see one almost every day flying over the mountains, yet not even one has attacked in years. At least everything is back to order, with the Imperials winning the Civil War and the dragons finally minding their own business." The man was interrupted by his daughter running up and asking if he could buy her a piece of candy. He then left with the child and I could hear her asking him who he had been talking to. I then heard the sound of clapping, sounding that the 'Tale of the Tongues' had ended.

I finished my stew and, after discreetly asking about any rumors surrounding my apparently-nonexistent-attackers, both Shade and I headed off to our room, I for one ready to sleep in an actual bed. As I headed through the doors and found, to my disappointment, that the beds were made out of stone here (what the heck! Who makes beds out of stone! How is that even comfortable!), I never noticed the man in shadowy armor watching us from the shadows.

* * *

My head seemed to run miles with all the thoughts coming in and out of my mind _Markarth seems ready to slit my throat_ I thought as I lie in bed, hoping to get some sleep before setting off early in the morning, but as always, I can never sleep. Luckily, I haven't slept in over a day, so exhaustion managed to overpower my nocturnal energy. I was just starting to nod off when I heard the creaking of the door. I tried stay still and control my breathing; I had learned quickly that it was easier to surprise an intruder when they're closer to you. Slowly, silently, footsteps entered the room and the door creaked closed. I could feel that Shade had woken up as well from the fact that she tensed under my arm. We waited until they were right next to us before we sprang into action. Shade moved first, a savage growl coming from her throat as she pounced on the attacker with her unnatural speed. I whirled to sit up in my bed, pulling my dagger from under the pillow, to see that I recognized the attacker. Or rather, _I recognized the armor._

I got up from the bed, kicking off the covers as I did so, and leaped toward the elf who had managed to dodge Shade's attack, my left hand alight with frost. But the assassin blocked my tiny dagger with his much bigger sword and pushed me against the bed. Pain shot from the back of my knee, making me fall onto the stone bed, which in the end, hurt a lot (whosever idea it was that a bed made out of a dang rock was comfortable was obviously either an idiot, always drunk, felt no pain what so ever, or never even tried the stupid things out!). The Dunmer used his weight to pin me to the bed, pulling the dagger out of my hand. I grabbed his arm and cast Frostbite at full force, but he barely even tensed. I looked at his arm to see that it had left no damaged. _He must have prepared for your frost magic_ my mind yelled at me. But too little, too late.

He pulled out some sort of thin vial with a strange, clear liquid. He uncorked the vial and pressed it hard to my lips, but I turned my head to stop him, but he used his free arm to force my head towards him again. Before he could get the vial to my mouth again, I screamed as loud as I could, actually making the assassin jump. I tried to stop him from getting the vial past my tensed mouth, but it failed. I screamed and kicked, trying to make as much noise as possible. The poison made my vision go blurry and my head spin, but I was sure that before I blacked out, I saw Shade launch herself at the assassin, teeth bared and snarling, and heard the door swing open and voices screaming out at the scene before them.


	10. Chapter 10: A River of Blood

_**Time for chapter 10! Don't know how I wrote this so quickly, but from what I can tell, there aren't any mistakes. Well, if there is, be sure to tell me! And speaking of mistakes, I went back and put in all the line breaks in my previous chapters. Well, I guess there is nothing more to say other than to read on! And please review!**_

"Hey, sleepy head! Wake up! I swear all you young folk want to do is sleep." Said a voice worn through from age. I opened my eyes to find everything blurry, but after blinking a few times, I realized that I was still in Markarth, but not in my room. I sat up and soon found the owner of the voice, Bothela, the owner of the Hag's Cure. Studying her, I could see how the rumors of the Breton woman being a witch could have been started, with her silvery gray hair and the fact that she wore black mage robes. I guess it didn't help her case with the unique warpaint design, with the all lines that spiderwebbed around her face, looking somewhat like feathers at the top and horns at the bottom, coupled with her piercing blue eyes that seemed to have a cynical look to them. All in all, she did have the look of a Forsworn warrior. _At least she won't send an axe through my gut like those madmen, I think._ I felt the weight of someone beside me and turned to find that Shade was lying beside me on the bed, her deep brown eyes watching me nonstop. I scratched her behind the ear to try to ease the worry in her eyes (is it just me or does she seem to get that look often).

"What happened?" I asked, turning to the old alchemist, also seemingly aware of the steel dagger tied to the string that held the garment together. Seemed like everyone in Skyrim was ready for trouble.

"The guards came and found you out like a light. They thought the glass vial beside you was poison, so they brought you to me. Luckily for you, it was just a sleeping potion. You've only been out for the better part of the morning." The woman walked off before I could respond, probably back to her work. _Well, she's cheerful. _I got up and slipped on my boots beside that laid the bed. I felt a pair of strange eyes on me and turned to see a pretty Breton woman in a light brown dress that seemed to be falling apart. The moment that she realized that I was looking at her she gave a small squeak and hurried off. _That was strange. _I thought as I headed for the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Thonar Silver-Blood wants to see you. He's in Understone Keep. Word of advice, the Silver-Blood Family is no one to be kept waiting." Called Bothela from behind the counter. I groaned. The last thing I needed was a bunch of rich people annoying me._ Like I really wanted to talk to his butt._ But, then again, I make way too many people angry already. So after asking for directions, I left the apothecary went out into the late morning with a feeling of dread on the air.

* * *

Thonar Silver-Blood seemed like every other Nord I've met. Tall, well-muscled, faired skin, but with balding gray hair instead of the usual blond. And like most Nords, he regarded me coldly. Typical.

"So, you are the little elf who has been wreaking havoc in my city. So, exactly why did the Dark Brotherhood decide that you needed to be out of the way?" He said as I walked through the door to some sort of conference room. His voice was arrogant, confident. I hated him from the moment he spoke. He probably thought he was so great, what with his huge silver mine and fancy noblemen clothes.

"First of all, the assassin wasn't from the Dark Brotherhood. The armor wasn't right. Unless you're saying they _are_ and you know something about it." I didn't hide my anger.

"You insolent little… If I wanted you dead, we would not be having this conversation. Now how about you show a shred of respect and tell me what you know."

"Really. I actually try to help when someone is nearly murdered in the streets, but your guards treat me like a stupid child and now that someone nearly killed me, you're _demanding_ that I tell you what I know? Yeah right. You didn't want my help before, so you're not getting it now."

"My city has been attacked! I want answers, you damn elf!"

"Well, unfortunately for you, this isn't your problem; its mine. Now back off!"

"This is MY city we're talking about! Do you know how bad a reputation like this is? Stop being selfish and give me what I want."

"_I'm_ selfish? You just don't want to lose business even though you have a bloody silver mine and enough money to make my head spin. You just hate it that you have to get your answers from an elf because your dang contacts can't tell you a thing and-"

"Don't you dare put words in my mouth you da-"

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" My voice made Thonar and his guards flinch. It also helped that fire magic lit up not only my hands, but also all the way up to my elbow. Shade gave a small, scared bark. She wasn't scared of me; she was scared that I was getting into something that would come back to bite me later. I figured that it was useless arguing with the idiot standing in front of me, so I whirled on my heels and threw open the doors with bang. Thonar's face was blood red from anger.

"Get back here, you bloody elf!" He called.

"No, you stupid Nord!" I said over my shoulder a little sarcastically. It just sent him off into a rampage, which I made an obvious move to ignore. Shade followed, bouncing on her heels and a toothy grin on her face as if saying _Yay! We're leaving!_ I couldn't help but crack a smile. But the anger quickly came back and soon I was storming down the hallway and navigating the twists and turns of the keep, wanting to leave Markarth behind. I never noticed that someone had been standing in front of me until after I ran into him.

"Watch where you're goi-" I was cut off by the sound of a sword being drawn and Shade's low growl.

"How dare you speak to the Jarl of Markarth that way!" said a Redguard woman in a full set of steel armor minus the helmet, her steel sword an inch from my neck. I tried to not look afraid, for one, Thonar had followed me out of the room.

I faced the Jarl, with his rich gold robes fit for a ruler and gold and sapphire circlet, and tried to speak with as much calm and respect as I could, "I'm sorry, sir. I was just angry with someone else and wasn't looking where I was going. I didn't realize who I was speaking to."

Luckily, the Jarl was rather forgiving. "Of course. We've all done things that we never meant to out of anger. I could tell you such stories that would make your head spin." He said, laughing. He turned to the Redguard with the sword. "Faleen, put that down. The girl means no harm."

"As you wish, my Jarl. It is my job to protect you, though." She said, eyeing me warily. Faleen put away her sword and Shade stopped snarling but her eyes didn't leave the housecarl.

"Yes, but she is no danger to me. You worry too much."

"A ruler is never safe from danger, Jarl Igmund." Said an accent that quickly brought back the haunted memories of my childhood. I looked and saw a Thalmor wizard staring down at me as if I was the most hated thing in the world, his hooded robes hiding his features from sight. I then realized that my own hood was down and around my shoulders, revealing me for what I was. _Crud._

"Yes, well, as I was saying, I didn't know who you were, my Jarl, so I'll just be going now, if you don't mind."

The Thalmor stopped me. "Wait, don't I know you."

My blood seemed to freeze with fear, but I managed to catch myself. He didn't know me. I tried to keep the fear out of my voice, though, as I spoke. "No, I don't believe so. I'm quite certain that we've never met."

"Yes, of course, I'm quite certain I _would_ remember an elf like yourself. Still, you do look familiar." He pondered as I wondered where in Tamriel he could know me from. A sudden, horrible thought came to mind and I quickly made up some excuse and practically ran out of the keep. As we headed down the steps, Shade nosed the spiced beef to remind me that I was supposed to deliver it yesterday. Figuring that one day couldn't hurt, I hurriedly found Voada and got 100 gold out of the delivery. After exiting the Keep, I decided to use my newly-earned gold to buy a few supplies for the trip through the mountains. _It's about time that I got out of this city._ But it seemed that whatever gods were supposed to be watching me weren't doing a very good job.

* * *

I did not think this day could get any worse. But, I've been wrong before. I entered Arnleif and Sons Trading Company and had just stepped up to the counter to purchase some supplies when a burly Nord mercenary with dirty blond hair in banded iron armor and matching shield pushed me out of the way, knocking me to the ground and acting like I wasn't even there.

"Excuse me, but I was here first." I said as politely as I could, but after today I just wanted to get out of this dang city.

"Yes, you _were_ here first, but that doesn't mean you are entitled to everything. Go back home, you stupid Altmer." His voice was oddly high-pitched for a man of his size.

"I never said I was. But that didn't mean you have to push me down and ignore me. And for the record, my home is Skyrim." This man made my temper flare quickly, for one, he was using ancient history as reason to push me around and feel good about it. I got up and glared at him, causing the Nord woman behind the counter to flinch and I saw the mercenary hide his fear. I have a good evil eye.

But my glare just gave him more to use. "You elves say that we're like children, well look at you and your pathetic look! You're more of a child than I ever was. You elves get mad that you can't own something that's someone else's and have to start a war over it. And Skyrim is Nord's land and always will be! This is a _Nord_'s home, and you elves will never have it!" And with that the big idiot swung his huge fist at me. _Like when the guards come they won't arrest the person who made the first move._

I moved back out of his reach and kicked his legs out from under him. The woman behind the counter yelled at us to stop or she was calling the guards. I looked over at her; she was hiding in a corner like we were about to kill her. And the look on her face…

The Nord had gotten to his feet and it was because of Shade's warning bark that I barely dodged his fist. I sent my leg up and kicked him away from me, just as an ebony arrow whizzed past where his head was. As the woman screamed and prayed for the gods to spare her life, I turned to the where the arrow had come and saw a Dunmer woman at the door, a black bow drawn and a cowl covering her face. A jolt of fear ran through me when I noticed the infamous skin-tight red and black leather armor that had a belt running from shoulder to waist. _The Dark Brotherhood!_ My mind shouted at me as the Nord saw the assassin and laughed. "Ha! Looks like I won't be the one to kill you, you damn elf!" _Yeah_, I thought, _you didn't see the arrow that nearly went into _your_ head._

Shade had had enough of staying on the sidelines. She charged the Dunmer and before the elf had time to string another arrow, she tackled the assassin with such force that the two went right through the doors. I ran to door in time to see the woman lift her head and come face-to-face with Shade's snarling maw. She snapped at her, but the woman moved out of the way with speed that just couldn't be Dunmer. _In fact, it's a little like mine…_

"Shade!" I called out, hoping the wolf would make a run for it, because although I've fought off assassins before, I knew that for once this one wasn't after me and I had no intention of ticking off the Dark Brotherhood. But instead Shade leapt at the woman, ready to tear out her throat, but the elf kicked Shade in the chest, sending the young shadow wolf flying across the plaza and right into the small wagon where the butcher stores his extra meat. Everyone in the market place screamed and ran for their lives, calling the guards as they went.

I ran up to the Dunmer assassin and shot an Ice Spike spell at her, but she heard it and whirled out of the way (why can't magic be sneaky). I felt hard hands push me out of the doorway and was sent all way across the plaza, nearly having my eye jabbed out by one of the wagon's handles. I turned to see the Nord in the doorway. He was laughing and only shut up long to dodge the Firebolt I sent towards him. With that, he had the perfect route to escape up into the city's upper levels, but he wanted to see me die. The assassin was in between the both of us, facing me at the moment and was notching another arrow. The Nord was laughing at my misery until the Dunmer finished getting her arrow in place and then turned to aim at him. The scream that came out of him was so girly that I had to bite my tongue to not laugh.

The Nord dove out of the way, landing in the river as he did. The Dunmer cursed under her breath and put away her bow to draw her sword, for one the Nord was getting up to run and she hadn't been getting good shots with everyone moving out of the way, and also for the fact that the guards had finally arrived (it took them long enough!). The Nord tried to run off screaming, but a battalion of guards blocked him (seriously, there are like no guards when you walk around the streets but if something happens, it's like an army's come for you). I figured now would be a good time to get out of here, but even more guards were pouring in, blocking the front gates. But the Dunmer hacked and slashed as if they were nothing, her blade cutting through them like a knife through butter, all the while advancing to her mark.

I ran after her, frost magic trailing ahead of me. One of my spells hit a guard that got in the way and suddenly they were all after me. I tried to yield, but they didn't accept it, so I started shooting fire and ice randomly. Soon the streets were filled with blood, mostly guards, but one managed to get my arm and another one got my leg, so the crimson of Nord blood mixed with Altmer in places. I heard Shade's snarls as she awoke and joined the fight and I was just about to reach the assassin when she tore through the last guard in her way.

The Nord ran at diagonal path, so he was right on the river's edge when she ran him through from behind. When she pulled out her blade, she turned and looked at me and I could have sworn that there was a smile on her face. I shot out an Ice Spike, but she dodged it and suddenly disappeared and then something heavy hit my head from behind. The last thing that I remembered was that the carnage made the water in the river look like blood.


	11. Chapter 11: No One Escapes Cidhna Mine

_**And after a week of waiting here is chapter 11! This one loosely follows the quest it is named after due to events in the last chapter. Direct dialogue is used in several places although I had to tweak it a bit for it to make sense. Luckily we'll be moving on with the story after this chapter, so keep your eyes on your email. Hope you like it and please review!**_

A gruff voice woke me up. "Hey, you lousy slacker, wake up!"

"Huh?" I said wonderfully. I opened my eyes to see an Orc woman in steel armor, shin boots, Imperial gauntlets, a steel shield and an Orcish mace and matching bow and arrows strapped to her hip and back respectively. She had her hands on her waist and a looked that made me think that she wanted to kill me and since I noticed that all my stuff had been taken and my robes were now replaced with a roughspun tunic and footwraps, I figured that it was best not to start a fight with her. I stood up, ignoring the huge headache I had at the moment and looked around and saw that I was underground. Perfect. The woman just kept staring at me.

"Where are we?" I asked, knowing that I probably wouldn't like the answer.

"All right, prisoner. Eyes front. You're in Cidhna Mine, now."-See, I knew that I wouldn't like the answer- "And we expect you to earn your keep. There's no resting your hide in a cell in this prison. Here, you work. You'll mine ore until you start throwing up silver bars. You got it?"

"Yes, mam." I said, knowing that it would probably be best to get on this woman's good side. That is, if she has a good side.

"Good." She said and then turned to the barred door behind her."All right. Open her up." Then to me in a much rougher voice that meant business. "Now, you. Get down there." Knowing that even though I still had my magic, I figured that the odds weren't in my favor so I quickly headed through the cell door. It slammed behind me and I knew that someone must be controlling a lever somewhere. I turned around, remembering that this mine was actually a prison, asking, "Hey! What I'd do?" My answer was a chuckle from the Orc. She walked out through the other door and I was left there alone.

I turned and walked out to see a large room with a fire in the middle. The only people in the room were a huge Orc standing beside a cell door and an old Breton was sitting beside the fire. I went down the stairs and the man greeted me rather bluntly. "Hey, what are you in for, new blood?" He asked that as if it was a joke, but considering I was fifteen, most people would normally too.

"I don't know. I got caught up in a fight in the streets and they knocked me out."

"So you're the one they brought in from that. Heard that you were charged for assisting a murder." He chuckled at some joke.

"I was trying to attack the assassin. She hurt my wolf. One of the guards got in the way and they didn't accept my yield." I said, though this wasn't entirely true. The guards had blocked the way out of the city and the only way they'd move was if the assassin was no longer a threat. But perhaps it had been best to tell the truth because the story I told him just sent the man into a rolling laughter. I scowled at him and sat down. When he was finally done, he said, "Well, that must have been some wolf for you to kill half the guard in revenge to get a shot at an assassin." He laughed again. "Better not let the others hear that. Some will think that as a challenge."

I signed. "So when do I get out?"

"Whenever you've served your sentence. But here you have to dig up the Nord's silver. If you don't, you'll have to deal with the guards when they come in. They'll beat some sense into, no doubt about that."

"Then I guess I'd better get digging." I got up and headed down a tunnel as a strange loneliness formed around me. Suddenly I realized that Shade was not with me. _Of course! She wouldn't have been sent in with me. I hope the guards didn't kill her. Knowing them they sure tried. Maybe she got away…_ I sighed inwardly. She wouldn't leave me here to rot. She would fight her way through the whole city guard to free me. The thought sent shivers down my spine. Shade was an excellent killer, but a city guard was too much even for her. But then again, if half the guards were killed just by my hand, then Shade wouldn't have too much trouble. Still, anything could happen. Hopefully if a rescue mission was on her mind, she would try and sneak in. She was smarter than that. Right? Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I quickly found a pickaxe and an ore vein and started swinging away at it, having no idea what I was doing.

"Never mined before?" asked a Breton man. He was probably middle-aged and had long, dark hair and a beard and well-tanned skin. "Watch what I do." I did and soon was slowly getting silver out of the rock. But my arms quickly tired (I seriously have no upper body strength). The man laughed. "Not exactly made for brute force, huh? After a few years in here, you'll buff up." The thought of spending years in this dang place made my stomach flip over. No doubt my sentence was long; I supposedly helped out an assassin last time I checked.

"So, what are you in for?" he asked.

"Apparently, assisting a murder. Guards should really learn how to get out of the way of an Ice Spike. You?"

The man chuckled. "I'm a Forsworn. One of our raids went bad, and I got captured. Would've been fine dying for the Reach with my kinsmen, but the Silver-Bloods want their ore mined, so they threw me in here." He looked over at me. "Name's Duach. What's yours?"

"Not tellin'." I said flatly.

"Fine. Easier when they drag your body out of here." Another man walked by and stared at us. He kept going down the way I'd come.

"Other prisoners don't like it when we talk to one another, so keep your voice down." He said quietly.

"Last time I checked, you were talking to me." I whispered back.

He just chuckled. "I was just trying to help you survive. You'd be dead in a few days if you don't know how to mine." We continued on like that for a few hours. After a while I looked further down and found a vein at the end of the tunnel. Nobody was around so I figured that meant some peace. I was wrong.

"Hey, you. New blood." Said a deep voice with a particular accent that I was sure I recognized. I was proven right when I turned around with an annoyed look on my face that quickly turned to surprise as I had to look up and _up_. In front of me was the huge Orc. He was much bigger up close. In fact, I think he was bigger than anybody I've ever met, including any Altmer and that is saying something. All he wore was ragged trousers and iron gauntlets (how'd he get those) with a pickaxe at his side and had white war paint all over his face. And he was staring at me with obvious distaste.

"Yeah?" I asked; my voice sounding like a mouse compared to his.

"Madanach wants to see you. I suggest you get moving." His voice held no room for argument.

"Who's Madanach?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Luckily the huge Orc didn't try and kill me. "He's the King in Rags. The leader of the Forsworn. And like I said before, you'd better get moving." Since there was obviously no chance of asking more questions, I followed the Orc back into the room with the fire. He led me to the cell door that I had noticed before, but had not had the heart to be interested in. He unlocked the door and pushed me through. Looking back, he growled and leaned against the side of the door. I turned and walked further into the cell, noting one door that led off to the side and I thought I saw stone that you'd see in Dwemer ruins. I continued down until I came into a room.

Madanach sat at a desk writing and I instantly became irritated. Not only did he have a desk, but a chest, bed, and even some rabbit and pheasant hanging from wooden beams. And I bet he didn't get that because he dug up the most silver. The Reachmen in question looked over his shoulder at me and gave a crooked smile.

"Well, if it isn't the little elf that slew the town guard. Come, come. Over to where I can see you better." I did as he ask and now saw that he had white hair and eyes so pale they nearly looked like he didn't have any pupils at all. The leader of the Forsworn looked like an old man to me. _The Forsworn might want to think about choosing a new leader. This one isn't going to last much longer, if I have anything to say about it._

_"_Well, well. Look at you. The Nords have turned you into an animal. A wild beast caged up and left to go mad. So, my fellow beast, you have me at your disposal. So, what do you want? Answers about the Forsworn? A chance to kill me? C'mon, I know you must want something? Everyone does." Madanach looked me up and down as he talked. He sounded like an old man. A grumpy old man.

"I'm no beast," was all I could think of to say.

All Madanach did was laugh. "No, maybe not now, but soon, soon. The Nords sure caged you up like one, though."

"Well, unlike you, I'm going to get out of here." I knew that was probably the stupidest thing to say. I had thought of escape plans, but no good ones had popped up. And right on cue, the King in Rags threw back his head and howled with laughter. When he was done, he said, "Really. And just how do you plan on doing that, may I ask?"

I squirmed. "I don't know. But you can be sure that I'll figure a way out." I started to leave when he called, "You know, you can try my way."

This caught me off guard. But then again, the leader of a rebellion against the Nords wouldn't really like being trapped in one of their prisons. I turned to see that he had turned around in his chair to face me. His face showed that he knew that he had my attention. And I recognized that he thought he could use me. And I knew I wouldn't let him.

"There's a man named Braig inside these mines. Besides me, he's been here the longest. Tell him I sent you. Ask him why he's here. I want you to know how widespread the injustice of Markarth is." His voice sounded confident, like he knew he had me. Something then told me that I wouldn't want to know what this Braig had to say.

"How about you tell me and I don't kill you." I knew my threat sounded weak, but I wasn't going to do what he asked.

"Really," he said, getting up. "I find that unlikely." His voice had gone cold.

"I may not look it, but I can be a very capable mage with what little I know." I said and for once my voice gained an ounce of strength.

"Then let's test that!" He cried before charging up a spell. He released it and was suddenly surrounded in a cloak of frost magic. _Dang it! He's a better mage than me. What was I thinking?_ _You weren't._ I readied my fire magic and quickly leapt aside as a powerful frost spell came flying hurling through the air towards me. Probably learn what that was later, if I survived this. I sent a dualcasted Firebolt with such force that it staggered him. _He's older, slower, weaker. Use that to your advantage_ my mind thought. My battle senses that I had formed over time kicked in; I watched my opponent for any and all weaknesses. All the while I dodged and ducked his spells. The bad thing about frost magic is that it's the slowest of the three types, easy to dodge if you have the speed. And knowledge.

Fire, ice, and battle taunts whizzed through the air as we battled. I dodged his spells while he absorbed mine with a ward (I always thought that those things were costly and I don't run into other mages often), but our pools of magicka slowly dwindled, mine leaving me sooner than Madanach's though I always managed to avoid getting killed before it refilled. Soon it ended with me holding a charged Firebolt and Madanach wielding a ward to deflect. I didn't have enough magicka to cast another one so this was my last shot, but the good thing is I could hold the Firebolt as long as I concentrated on it but Madanach had to use his reserves to keep up the ward. The King in Rags knew my plan and let the spell go. I released my own spell right after that but before it hit him he hurled a huge frost spell (I think it was called Ice Storm) straight at me. I jumped up to avoid it and ended up hitting my head on the ceiling. I landed hard on my butt, my head spinning.

When my vision cleared, I saw that the Madanach was now just a burnt up body. I got to my feet in time to hear a voice cry out in alarm and turned to see that the Orc had come to check out the commotion (you didn't think the sound of magic and yelling wasn't suspicious until _now_). He unsheathed the pickaxe at his side and charged yelling "For Madanach!" I ducked, sending fire up into his face. He screamed and backed away, but with my unrelenting flames it was soon over. The other prisoners soon came to investigate and upon seeing me beside the burned bodies of the Orc and Madanach, they attacked. After the last of the inmates had been reduced to ash, I took a quick glance around the room and found a piece of paper on the desk (good thing the King didn't have it on him or else it wouldn't have survived). Once reading its contents, I went to the cell I had seen earlier. Using the key from the desk, the door clicked open easily. I walked into the now-revealed tunnel and my hopeful escape.

* * *

"My eyes inside Cidhna Mine tell me Madanach is dead. You've done a great service to the Silver-Blood family. I've had the Jarl officially pardon, and taken care of a few other loose ends." said Thonar Silver-Blood. After fighting my way through frostbite spiders (those things disgust _and_ creep me out) and Dwarven Guardians (bloody metal contraptions. Why did the dwarves have to invent those things), I found myself facing none other than the person who put me in the dang jail in the first place. So naturally I summon fire to burn him when he tells me that I've done him a service. Well, that's one for the record books. But things still didn't add up.

"You and your thugs had me arrested in the first place." I growled, glaring at the man who just made me plain hate Nords.

"And you've proven that was the best move I could have made. Don't give that look. You're free to go. Here, how about a little token for your efforts? My family's ring and all the things the guards confiscated from you when you were jailed." As he came toward me he eyed my hands, which I lowered. But that didn't mean that I couldn't bring it back just as quick. He handed me a sack which contained my things and pulled off a ring from his finger. After taking both the ring and the sack, I noticed that he wasn't alone. From out of the shadows came the one creature I couldn't wait to see again.

"Shade!" I cried as she ran up to me and I wrapped my arms around her, despite her wanting to lick my face off.

"I sent guards to find your wolf and bring her to me after I heard you had killed Madanach. I knew you'd want her back." He turned to leave.

"Wait just one moment. Exactly why was I thrown in jail in the first place? And how did I do you a service by killing Madanach? Why didn't you just execute him from the start?" I had so many questions and I was going to make sure I got them. Even if I have to put a dagger to his throat.

Thonar signed. No getting out of this one buddy. "When their uprising was crushed, I had Madanach brought to me. He was a wild animal, but a useful one. I offered him a stay from execution if he used his influence to deal with any annoyances that came up. Competitors, agents, and idiots" He turned back to me. "So I've let him run his little Forsworn rebellion from inside Cidhna Mine. But then he got out of control. He killed my wife and nearly killed me. Then you come along and start being nosy. When you were attacked at the inn, I thought that Madanach had sent the assassin. I never ordered it and so I wanted to know why. I thought you had learned something. And when you got caught up in the fight in the market, I saw the perfect reason to send you to Cidhna Mine and get you out of the way. But I didn't think you'd kill the King in Rags and his all his warriors. With Madanach out of the way, it will be easier to clean up the messes without him starting new ones."

All this was a shock to me. _He was conspiring with the Forsworn!_ But all I could say was, "I never knew anything about this. And the attack at the inn is actually a personal issue." Thonar nodded at this.

"Good, because I'd prefer not to be involved in that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to figure out how we're going to fill our recently emptied mine." What that inferred, I did not want to know. I ran past him, deciding to head out of the city gates as soon as possible, and ignored the look he gave Shade as she growled at him. I didn't bother with supplies; it was midnight and I didn't want to stay until the shops opened. I came to a stop at the river right before the front gates and I promptly tossed the ring Thonar gave me as far as I could into it. I didn't want anything that came from this city. _If I ever go back to Markarth,_ I thought, _it will be too soon._


	12. Chapter 12: Watchful Eyes

**Time for chapter 12, everybody! For some reason, I don't feel as confident in this chapter as I think I should. Probably because I wrote it piece by piece instead of all at once. Oh well. Been having a busy week but the next few should hopefully be easier, which might mean sooner updates. Well, I guess if this chapter is as terrible my mind is telling me then you guys will tell me. Either way, please review as I could do with the feedback. One more quick note. For those of you reading ahead you'll find that this chapter switches perspectives. I plan to try and make it clear when this happens (for one, tell you who is talking at the top and only the main character Mivryna will be in first person.) Hope you like this new addition! Signing off now so enjoy!**

_Rowena Indaren_

"What is the music of life?" rasped the Black Door.

"Silence, my brother." Whispered Rowena, the Dunmer's voice a melody in the cold, still night.

"Welcome home." Came the Door's voice once again, indicating the right passphrase. Its voice was harsh and cold, like death itself. Rowena gave a slight smile at the notion. But she didn't waste time with the amusing thought and quickly sent the tendrils of her mind outward, in search of any life that shouldn't be out at this time. All she found were the menial thoughts of rabbits and a deer and with a quick invasive attack on their minds they fled to find a new place to graze. It was when the night was truly still did Rowena open the thick Black Door and proceed inside the Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood.

The musty stillness that greeted her inside felt like a long-time friend. The Dunmer assassin embraced it welcoming and gracefully walked down the steps and into the first room of the Sanctuary, which was rather empty, with the only things in it being black stone shelves that contained very few things of interest, besides a few sets of the telltale Shrouded Armor of her family and also some sets of the less popular Shrouded Robes, the clothing for the mages of the Dark Brotherhood, a few barrels and sacks for storage, and of course a large white stone table off in the far corner of the room; the only thing on it was a map of Skyrim that had several iron daggers stabbed into it in random places. What they meant, Rowena didn't know and never really enough cared to ask the person who put them there about it. And speaking of her, Astrid as usual stood poured over the map in deep concentration, obvious thinking hard on something.

Rowena sighed inwardly. Her last contract had been a success as always, there had never been a doubt in her mind that she couldn't kill the sniveling Nord with ease even if he did try and put up a fight, no, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that she had learned a rather interesting piece of information while in Markarth and, although she knew she needed to tell her superior what she had learned, she had no idea how Astrid would react. _It's not like I did anything wrong._ Rowena thought _just that she may ask questions that I can't answer. Or rather, questions that the people can't answer._ Just as that thought had gone through the twenty-one-year-old Dunmer's mind, Astrid looked up from her work and immediately noticed her in the shadows of the room.

"Rowena, I didn't notice you come in. I must be getting sloppy." Astrid said, her seductive voice underlining her laughing tone. She smiled sweetly, which only added to the Nord woman's beauty, along with her blond hair that was always pulled back behind her head, her fair Nord skin, and her startling blue eyes that seemed to bore into Rowena's soul, though that was to be expected from any of her family members, herself included.

"Well, considering my gifts, I don't find it surprising that you didn't hear me. After all, a Shadow shouldn't be able to be heard by anyone, even by a member of her family. If so, what's the point of being one with the night?" Rowena joked back. Despite the fact that Astrid always seemed intimidating, she was actually not that bad to talk to. At least she wasn't as secretive as some of the other members.

Astrid laughed; her voice as pleasing to listen to as Rowena's own. The only difference was that Rowena was taught how to make her voice like a light melody due to noble upbringing, while Astrid's voice was darkly seductive, due to the leader's violent past combined with a very extensive training as an assassin.

"True, true. You should of course naturally be a better sneak than most others. But still, from what I remember, I used to be able to walk up behind you without you knowing." Rowena nodded at this fact; everyone here had been just starting out at one time. "So, how was the contract? Didn't Nazir send you to Markarth to kill some Nord mercenary who had gotten on one too many nobleman's nerves?" Astrid asked and Rowena was grateful for the change in conversation.

"Yes, although the contract wasn't as easy as I originally thought. I think he suspected that his days were numbered because he was keen to sticking around large crowds of people. I followed him all day and the only time I could get a good chance to kill him was when he went to buy some more supplies for that excavation of the Dwemer ruin in the keep. And even then I had to deal with two witnesses, although one seemed content to scream in a corner until I left." Rowena explained with indifference. After all, she had been on worse contracts before.

Astrid chuckled at the story. "I heard about that. Unfortunately for you, only one witness was willing to scream for mercy. Apparently the other was more willing to try and kill you."

Rowena nodded. "She didn't get very far though, even with some sort of strange black wolf helping her out. The city guard took care of her. I was amazed though, she put up some fight, and it was all just to get to me. I think she didn't want to get involved but the guards blocked her way out so she had to fight. Just so happens that one of her spells managed to hit a poor guard and of course the s'wits can never tell friendly fire from enemy fire so they retaliated."

"That's some story, but you're avoiding something." Astrid said, her voice turning hard and Rowena knew that she was caught. Not that she ever meant to hide it.

Rowena sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid that I am. You see, I overheard the guards talking about some assassin attacking a girl in her room the night before I arrived and when I learned more…" Rowena trailed off, suddenly finding herself at a loss for words. With Astrid's slightly worried look, Rowena sucked in a large breath and let it go in one long gasp, "It turns out that the girl that fought me in the market place was the same girl who was attacked and that her attacker wasn't some rouge assassin." Rowena had to pause for breath but she was certain that realization was already dawning on the Nord assassin.

"It was them." Astrid spoke it with such venom in her voice that Rowena didn't need to ask for clarification. When Rowena nodded, Astrid took the closest iron dagger and stabbed it down where Markarth was on the map, the sound made such a loud noise that Rowena had to cover her sensitive ears. Astrid's cold face softened at the sight of her sister's pain. "Sorry, sister, I forget that your hearing is just as good as Arnbjorn's." her voice had gone back to its seductively friendly tone. Rowena managed to crack a smile, despite the fact that her ears were still ringing.

"Yeah, so what was that all about?" came Arnbjorn's voice from the room Astrid and he shared, which was quickly followed by the hulking man himself. Arnbjorn was rather large, even for a Nord, with white blond hair, a full beard, and the usual fair skin. As with most of her family members, he wore the usual black and red leather skin-tight armor but with Arnbjorn the sleeves were cut short and he also wore no boots. The scowl that was always on his face only deepened when he entered the room. Arnbjorn crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the two women, waiting for a response. Astrid was the first to speak.

"Sorry to disturb you, love, I was just a little agitated." She said soothingly. It was only then that Rowena noticed that Arnbjorn's hair was a ruffled and unbrushed; a sign that he had come in late.

"Then perhaps you should refrain from putting more holes in the table; you have enough of them." He said, kissing Astrid on the top of her head. Rowena attempted to not look away in disgust.

Astrid caught her revulsion. "Rowena, why don't you go unpack? You've had a long journey after all." She smiled.

"Of course, Astrid." Rowena said as Astrid returned Arnbjorn's kiss; this time both their lips met and the kiss was longer, harder. Rowena quickly hurried down the stairs, ready to lie down in her bed and go straight to sleep. As she descended into the place she called home, she could hear the conversation between the married assassins.

"So, what has you so upset?" asked Arnbjorn, breaking away.

Astrid laughed. "Something you'll have time to learn all about when I brief you on your next assignment…"

* * *

_Mivryna Faryon_

"And don't come back, you damn little elf!" called one of the Nords as I practically flew from the entrance of Candlehearth Hall, landing hard on the ground with a loud _oof_. Through my clouded mind I could hear their laughter as they retreated back inside the inn. I wanted to curse them to Oblivion but my head spun and my vision was too blurry to think of any good retort. I tried to get up but the pain in my head only worsened, forcing me back to the ground. For a moment I wondered if Shade had gotten out of there alright, but then again, I was the one who had been caught.

I tried to get up once more but before I could get my arms under me, a strong, hard hand slipped under my belly, picked me up, and slung me over the their shoulder with little effort. I couldn't help but groan as another wave of pain swept through me. I tried to push myself off but my arms didn't seem to be working at the moment. Lovely. _I need to move. If not…_

It seemed that bad luck just followed me around. After departing Markarth I used the last bit of money I had to pay for a carriage ride to Whiterun, where the bartender of the Bannered Mare knew nothing of my pursuers. Since the guards don't like people sleeping anywhere on the ground, Shade and I spent the night in some ruined farmhouse on the outskirts of the plains and the next morning we set off for Riften, where it seemed my only chance of figuring out who was following me lay. Unfortunately I am directionally challenged so I went north instead of south and took the road to Eastmarch, which I realized way too late. So we decide to stay the night in what apparently seems to be a large Frostbite Spider cave after clearing the whole place of those disgusting little (big?) beggars and in the middle of the night, Shade hears something. So naturally since I'm completely paranoid (comes with being on the run) I go and check it out until I'm satisfied (in other words, until I find the source of the dang noise) and before I know it I nearly have a dagger plunged into my back. Turns out that we missed a few of the inhabitants (in my defense they _literally came out of a wall!_).

So for the short version, both Shade and I had to face off against three bloody vampires. We won in the end, but I had contracted _Sanguinare Vampiris_. So I quickly head to The White Phial in Windhelm only to find that they have just sold the last stinking bottle of Potion of Cure Disease. So I'm running around the city like a chicken with its head cut off when an ex-Summerset Shadows member shows up and asks me for my help and it just so happens that the only thing he has on him for payment is the potion I need.

I go do the job for him, which is clearing out Candlehearth Hall's safe and just as I am picking the lock, one of the inn's regulars comes down the stairs roaring drunk and catches me in the act. So naturally the Nord gets mad and calls his buddies to try and beat me to death. Luckily the bartender didn't want a murder in her own inn so she threatened to call the guards if they didn't stop. So they responded by literally throwing me out of the inn and into the freezing night.

I was thrust out of my past memories by being set down on the cold stone of the street. _Guess I'm about to find out who my savior is. Or murderer._ And true to my thoughts, the male figure loomed over me, tilting my head back to make sure I had survived the trip.

"Well, looks like the job was a bit more than you could handle, my little flower." His voice was unmistakable as the Summerset Shadow, Andil, who had set me up on the job. Honestly, I hated the elf. He, as usual, carried the arrogance of the Altmer in his voice and, even worse, he had been a renowned womanizer in the Guild. Even though I couldn't see his face I already knew what he looked like, with his blond hair that was cropped at his jawline, bright yellow eyes, and golden bronze skin.

"Oh, just shut up and hand me the bottle; I'll be a vampire in a few hours without it." I said, barely even able to form those words. A deathly cold seemed to spread over my body and my vision got even worse, so I knew that I didn't have long, even if I hadn't counted the days. But Andil was known for doing things his way (another one of the reasons why I hate the s'wit).

"Alright my pretty, but first you have to give me all the things from the safe first. _Then_ we'll discuss that potion." he said.

"I don't have it. I got caught and I don't have the strength to even stand right now. I'll go back and get it if you give me the potion. Please, Andil, if you don't, I'll become a vampire." I pleaded. Normally I'd spit in the bastard's face but unfortunately he's holding all the strings. Just like always.

"Really. Well, maybe if you hadn't let that drunken human catch you, you wouldn't be in this problem, now would you. Pity. I so loved your company." He sneered into my face and then I knew.

"You ratted me out! You deliberately sent me in there just to try and get those racist Nords to try and kill me!" I tried to yell, but my voice came out small and weak. Andil laughed.

"Haha, so you've figured me out! Well, my pretty little one, after you got me kicked out of the Summerset Shadows, I figured I should ruin your life as well." He drew an Elven dagger out of his boot and placed it against my neck. I couldn't see because this far into the disease made my vision blurry, but I knew his cruel smile well. And I was so stupid to have fallen for his trap. Andil had been banned from the Summerset Shadows after he tried to come on to me when I had made it clear that I didn't like him. Luckily at the time I was Linwe's favorite so he automatically was kicked out of the Shadows. And now he was looking for revenge. Story of my life. "Sorry my little flower, but I'd prefer a dead girl over a vampire one."

"You bastard! I hope you rot in Oblivion!" I rasped, but the blurry form of Andil just laughed. Suddenly there was a savage, bestial growl and Andil violently moved away from my sight as Shade snapped his neck. He only screamed for a second.

I fell over as my body slid from its place against the wall and was presently licked in the face by a worried shadow wolf. "Shade," I groaned and reached up to stroke her lean neck affectingly. But she soon moved away from me and after the sound of ripping leather, a small glass bottle touched my fingers. I quickly downed the Potion of Cure Disease and within a few seconds my vision cleared, revealing that I was at the edge of the Gray Quarter. Explains the few guards.

I stood, feeling only slightly unsteady on my feet but with aches all over my body from the brutal beating back at the inn; tomorrow would welcome a day of fresh bruises, if they weren't already there. I looked around and after a bit of running in circles, I managed to find the alleyway that would lead me out by the front gates. _Its time I got out of this dang city._

Shade had run a little on ahead of me and was looking out into the open space that housed the inn and a few smaller buildings such the Temple of Talos. She turned back at me and from her happy-go-lucky look I could tell that the coast was clear for any trouble. Good. But as I ascended the steps out of the alley, Shade's expression turned wary and I had just time to turn at the sound of a weapon being drawn from its sheath.

"Die you damn elf!" yelled a Nord man that in the dim light I could see wore a belted tunic, a pair of boots, and a hat that covered his hair. I couldn't see much of his face but from his rounded jaw and facial hair (why is that such a thing with Nords? I don't get it) that this was the man that caught me at Candlehearth Hall. Right after the moment of recognition, I caught the glint of metal against the light of the moon and realized that he was wielding an iron dagger. _Dang it._

My battle instincts kicked in automatically. Running forward, I ducked at the Nord's attempt to stab me in between the eyes and rolled under his arm and into the shadows, where I stayed crouched and silently drew my own weapon. The Nord (who I think was called Rolff) whirled around only to find that I had disappeared. From her vantage point, Shade growled and followed my lead.

"Where are you, you little sneak. You can't hide from me! Come and face me, you miserable little wrench!" He jeered as he searched for me but his eyes only saw darkness and passed over me several times. I quickly eyed the shadows for any sign of Shade, but like the legends surrounding her species say, she seemed to have vanished.

But it seemed that the fact that he had lost his target did not discourage him. Rolff moved back and forth from each side of the high stone walls, swinging his fist or iron dagger in hopes of landing a hit. But once his back was turned, I moved quickly from my hiding spot and aimed my Elven dagger right for the nape of his neck. As I did so, I upturned a small pebble and at its sound, Rolff turned around yelling and prepared to slash me across the collarbone.

Moving faster than him, I crouched down as close as I could get to the ground as his pitiful dagger swung uselessly above me. Deciding to use this opening as a chance to end this before the guards heard us, I tightened my grip on my dagger and in one swift movement, stood up, grabbing his throat with my left hand and used my right to send my blade into the bottom of his chin, the tip of the weapon protruding from the inside of his mouth. His eyes went wide and blood gurgled out of his mouth for a second before I cast Flames with the hand that held his neck and he quickly went limp; I let him fall with a terrible _thud_.

Shade came out of hiding a little ways from me, and after looking me over to see if I was alright, sniffed the body to make sure he was dead while I just stared at the wreckage in front of me. The first time I had killed a person, I had been completely mortified, even to the point of wanting to throw up. But now the only thought that entered my mind was _How am I going to hide the body?_

With one look at Shade, I grabbed the head of the corpse and she held one of the feet with her mouth and together we half-dragged, half-carried the now-dead Rolff out to the Windhelm docks. We stayed in the shadows as we moved to where the high stone walls opened up to the docks with the large expanse of the White River running past the city and out on its way to the Sea of Ghosts. After Shade sniffed the air for any sign of another presence, we gave up on lifting him and just unceremoniously dragged Rolff out onto the edge of one of the empty docks and rolled the body into the river, where it floated off with the current.

We stared after it until the darkness hid it from view, despite the fact that we can see better than most people at night (one of my life's many mysteries. Maybe I'll figure it out someday). Even though Rolff's body was now out of sight, I still lingered on the dock, for some reason sensing something about the air that was, unnatural. I tried to shrug it off as paranoia, but it seemed Shade could tell as well, as she continually sniffed the wind and searched ever corner of the docks for something. But whatever it was, there was no sign of any danger or even any change for that matter.

I breathed in a long breathe of the crisp Skyrim air. Oh how I missed Cryodiil and its actual warm summers. But here in Skyrim, summer is as short as it is warm and already the normal cold was settling back over the land. And Eastmarch was always covered in snow except for the volcanic tundra not far to the south (despite what people say, I actually like it there. Better than Winterhold's blizzards); the White River here covered in ice at some parts. This was why I always liked Solitude.

Shade tugged at the edge of my worn Apprentice Robes and I nodded my understanding. The sun was starting to rise and with it would bring the city guard. Briefly I wondered why there had been none at this time of day. Surely Jarl Brunwulf Free-Winter wouldn't let the docks go unpatrolled? Right?

I shrugged the fleeting thought away with the reasoning that perhaps we just got lucky and they were changing shifts. But even still, I couldn't help as Shade and I headed back inside the City of Ysgramor that we, more me actually, were being watched...


	13. Chapter 13: The Hunter and the Hunted

**_Not much here to say, other than here's chapter 13 and that I had hoped to get this up sooner but I have poor time management skills. Also I forgot to say this in the last chapter: Rowena Indaren is my original character but I do not own the Elder Scrolls. Well, hope you like this one and please review. Let to know what you think._**

I ran through the autumn-colored forest of The Rift, jumping over fallen trees and rocks as silently as I could, but still my pursuer continued to keep on my trail, never relenting. Even though I knew that my eyes would play tricks and tell me that no one was behind me, they couldn't be far behind. They always were.

I looked around randomly, hoping that there was something that I could use to my advantage. But the only thing around were the trees, with their thin branches and leaves that made it painfully obvious that you could barely hide a squirrel in there, so that meant that the only thing left to do was run. And hope that I got out of this alive.

But my pursuer was faster. She ran through the woods with speed greater than mine and the only reason I had managed to keep her off my trail was by backtracking and wading in the few streams to throw her off my scent. Sometimes I wondered if anything could stop her. So far nothing I tried had. Despite the hopelessness that filled me, I pressed on, hoping that through some sort of miracle I could shake her. I had to, else face capture and I don't plan on seeing the face of my captor when they do.

I stopped for a moment. I couldn't hear her and that never signaled anything good. But another sound caught my attention. The sound of running water. _A river. Maybe I can use it to throw them off for good. It's worth a shot. After all, I can't run much further like this._ So after one more moment, I used my failing reserves and sprinted towards the sound, barely remembering that it would be best if my pursuer never heard me and figure out my plan.

As I ran the sound got louder, clearer, telling me that I was going in the right direction. The thing that worried me, though, was that my pursuer was silent where before I just could tell they practically _felt_ my labored breathing, every sound I made even though I tried to be quiet, and worse, my fear at being caught. Of course should all of this fail and they finally catch up to me, I would fight to the death than let them take me. I wouldn't give those murderers the satisfaction that they had won. Never. I pushed my ambition away for the moment because now it took all my concentration and energy to keep going, to just put one foot in front of the other. _But if I manage to get to the river, then this might have all been worth it. Just a little more._ Finally in the distance the land gave way to the clear blue of Lake Honrich. I gave it my all, no longer caring that I was making it all too obvious where I was headed.

I was just a few feet from the shore when the savage war growl ripped through the air on my right and with a blur of motion from that direction, I felt myself falling onto my back and the next second razor sharp teeth found the soft spot on my neck and clamped down, not hard enough to draw blood but enough to tell me that I was finished.

After a single breathe passed, the pressure lifted and a rough, wet tongue quickly and thoroughly began to lick my face.

"Ugh! Shade!" I protested with disgust. I moved my arms out under her paws, which released them willingly, and I subsequently forced the wolf's diminutive head away from my now soaked face. I glared up at her, but Shade just grinned mischievously at her accomplishment and I found it hard to be mad at the young wolf. With a slight push, Shade obediently got off and together we walked down the rest of the length to Lake Honrich.

It's been a day and a half since we left Windhelm and only now have the two of us been able to see some progress in the whole matter of reaching Riften. And since there haven't any attacks lately, Shade and I have decided to use this precious time to sharpen our skills, which usually means one of us pursuing the other in mock chases. Even though it's just a game, to us it is the only way to make sure that we stay one step ahead of these people by allowing me to form tactics and try to find a way to escape when fighting my way out doesn't work while at the same time improving Shade's hunting skill. After all, we can't rely on the chance that we run into a hunter that takes pity on our plight. Or is naïve enough to lower his guard.

I sat down by the bank and tore off my boots with an ease that comes from wearing too big of clothing. Dipping my feet into the cool water, I pulled off my hood, ring, and necklace, all the while listening to make sure we were alone. Although Shade and I were on the opposite side of the lake from Riften, it still didn't mean that the possibility of another traveler or a hunter could come upon us at the worst time, and it never helped that I was particularly modest.

I after throwing off the knapsack that always hung from my back, I started to unbuckle my belt to remove my dagger when something slammed into my back and I was promptly sent face first into the lake. I didn't really need to know how to swim as the water was shallow until a bit further out, but I still managed to get my whole front soaked from head to toe. I sat up and turned to face the one creature that stood on the shore, who had a wolfish grin on her face (sometimes I think that wolf wants to get herself killed).

"Shade!" I scolded but my reaction only prompted the shadow wolf to bark playfully from her place on the shore. Even worse, Shade ran forward and jumped right for me, landing not too far away and thus soaking the rest of me.

"Shade!' I scolded again but this just made my mischievous little wolf even happier. Giving up the stern master approach, I scooped up a handful of water and flung it into her face. Shade yelped in surprise and jumped backwards into the air, sending a spray of water onto me as she did, making me yelp at its cold touch. But I still laughed as Shade gave me a stern glare, which quickly broke into her infamous wolfish grin. She then subsequently tackled me, gave a short playful bark, and with a quick look back ran right out of the water and into the Fall Forest.

"You bloody wolf!" I called after her, but Shade was already gone. I groaned to myself. If there was one thing I knew, it was that Shade did what she wanted, when she wanted. "I going to kill that girl," I muttered to myself and quickly set off after her (which was not hard since she was barking her head off the whole way).

I laughed as I ran through the forest. It always seemed that despite our predicament, Shade always did whatever she could to bring a smile to my face, or at least make me forget about the recent somber events. I guess that was why we always such good friends. We were what the other truly needed. I followed the barking which quickly became playful howling and soon lost my way, though I knew Shade could track her way back to the shore if need be. Her howls became louder and louder as I grew nearer to the wolf and was glad that she didn't intend to turn this into a training exercise, for one I was completely worn out by the last. I don't know how long I ran, but finally noticed that Shade's barking and howling had stopped; when I came to the next clearing, Shade had vanished.

_Dang it Shade. Where are you?_ I stumbled out into the middle of the clearing, my fatigue finally taking over. I looked around but could find no sign that she had passed through here. My ears gave no hint either. I was now undoubtedly lost with not only no way to find Shade, but now there was no way to get back to the bank where all my gear lay. _Gods, I hope someone doesn't go and steal it. If they do I'll send the little mongrels to Oblivion._

"Shade!" I called, forcing distress to color my voice. "Shade!" I cried her name for what seemed hours to me but judging by the sun, it would only have been fifteen minutes. "Shade!"

Then I heard a growl from off to my left, at the edge of the clearing. I turned and watched as the bushes shook with the presence of an animal. I groaned. _Shade! You go and get me lost and you'll still playing around! Ugh._ I stomped over to where the Shade crouched in the underbrush and was promptly greeted by a deep growl. I crossed my hands over my chest and glared.

"Seriously Shade, enough is enough. This isn't funny anymore. Now knock it off and take me back to the bank. If anything's missing it'll be your fault." I said as sternly as I could, but Shade just responded with an angry snarl. My face became hot with rage. Shade was known to play games but this was one game that I did not feel like standing for. Letting my anger show, I made to move forward and pull Shade out of the underbrush when I heard a way too familiar bark behind me. Forgetting my earlier action, I turned around only to become as puzzled as I'll ever become. For one, what I saw was Shade running up to me from the other side of the clearing frantically barking her head off. _And if Shade is right there, then who's…_

I spun around and felt panic take ahold as two glowing yellow eyes stared back at me from the dark underbrush. Two eyes that shown like the twin moons on a starless night and a growl so bestial it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. And I swear that for in the few seconds that passed before a chaos like no other ensued, my breathe froze solid and my heart stopped dead in its tracks.

The next moment the world turned red with fear as a large hulking wolf leaped out of the bush and in one swift movement pinned me to the ground, its terrifying snarling mouth barely an inch from my face. I screamed as loud as I could, too scared to do anything else, and for a second took a closer look at its eyes. They held an evil hunger in them, and also seemed to study me with an intelligence that couldn't be animal. _This isn't a wolf! It's a…_ came the dreadful thought as the age old stories of monsters and other terrors of the night came back from my earliest memories.

The creature roared and threw its head back just as Shade tackled the monster with enough force to make it stand back on its hind legs. The fear that kept me in place released me and like an arrow I turned onto my stomach and darted from underneath the beast, running for the opposite side of the clearing. Once there, I spared a moment to look back.

The beast, now standing upright, was truly like something from out of a nightmare. Shade had latched her jaw onto its nose and was hanging in the air and was desperately trying stay on, but the beast took one of its massive clawed hands, grabbed Shade's back, ripped her off of itself, and threw her off to the side. It then looked at me with its hungry eyes and despite the varying rumors of its appearance, I knew automatically what this thing was.

_I'm being hunted by a werewolf!_

The monster roared, revealing the row of sharp teeth that lined its mouth. From where she laid, Shade snarled aggressively; the werewolf only gave her a fleeting look before turning back to me. And with that, I spun on my heels and tore off into the forest, the thing of nightmares right behind me.

I ran as fast as I could, but anyone with half a brain would know how futile my plan was; I had only gone a few feet when I felt the creature's hot breath on my legs. At the last second I spotted an overturned log a little off to the side and making a split-second decision, leaped over the log and crouched into a ball as I landed. I dared a look up and watched as the werewolf glided over me, its lean body lined with muscle and covered with fur as black as Shade's. It bounded to a stop not too far away and hesitating only a second, I ran off into the underbrush off to my right, hoping that it was too thick for it to follow.

Thorns and twigs from the large bushes poked and prodded me as I loudly tore through them, all the while hearing the beast's frightening roar as caught me trying to escape. A sharp pain came from my leg and I looked back to see a clawed hand trying to grab ahold of my leg, the owner struggling to try and get past the thick foliage.

My scream got stuck in my throat and instead came out as a gasp. Instinct took over and I kicked my foot away with only little success; it didn't have a good hold on me but its hooked claws were caught in my leg and with every movement pain and blood spilled from my wounds. Knowing that once it got a firm hold that I would be dead, I opened my palm out to it and cast a quick Firebolt, which hit the werewolf's face with a loud _thud_ and immediately the monster's growl turned to a roar of pain and fury as it loosened its grip on me for a small second. That was all I needed.

Another abrupt jerk disengaged my leg from it and, on my hands and knees, I frantically crawled until I reached the other edge of the brush. Looking back for only a second, I sprinted from out of my pitiful hiding place and down what seemed to be some animal trail. The werewolf roared and I heard what seemed to be a clap of thunder as it bounded over the thick brush and tore off after me. Suddenly I heard another growl join the monster's and looked back to see that Shade had caught up to us and was now trying to hold it off. Figuring that with two against one we might actually have a shot, I ran back towards them, letting Flames pour from my hands and onto the werewolf. It roared and swiped me, missing my chest by inches. Backing up, I tripped and seeing its chance, the creature leapt to hover over me, but Shade followed and bit deeply into its shoulder. The creature roared at my wolf and tried to tear her off it like before, but Shade used her paws to position herself where its arms couldn't reach.

From my place under it, I dualcasted Flames until my magicka ran out, but if my spell affected it, the werewolf showed no signs of weakness. _What kills this thing? Probably nothing that can help you right now._

I scrabbled out from under the creature just as it got its arm under Shade's belly and once again flung the young wolf off of it, this time, though, Shade took a large chunk of flesh with her. This only made it even madder.

Realizing that running would do nothing for my case right now, I ran to the nearest tree and using all my speed and agility, skillfully climbed halfway up the tree by the time the monster had time to reach the bottom. The thing roared up at me, making the branches shake and my hair stand on end. I continued climbing, hoping that I could get out of its reach and wait it out. But then again this was a last minute plan so basically everything can go wrong.

The werewolf first tried to jump up and snatch me out of the branches, which it missed by less than an inch (you think a massive creature such as a werewolf wouldn't be able to jump very far but I've been wrong before). After I managed to climb out of its reach, the hulking monster got fed up and tried to climb after me. Luckily the limbs of The Rift's famous birch trees are rather thin, so the hulking monstrosity quickly tumbled down after grabbing the first branch. Seeing that I might have actually gotten the better of it, the werewolf let one more chilling roar, its eyes filled with a terrifying hunger.

Suddenly the creature stilled, as if suddenly thinking of something. Growling, it swiped the trunk of the tree, leaving a considerable sized-gap in it. My breathe caught in my throat as the werewolf roared once more and quickly set to tearing into the wood, which crumbled easily under its strength. I tried to think to summon magic but my reserves were still drained. _Dang it!_

Noticing a bit of movement, I looked to find that Shade had woken up and with a savage war howl, launched herself at the werewolf, who had already cut through half the tree, but the monster caught Shade's attack and countered by batting her away with its hand like she was nothing more than some annoying insect. With a yelp, Shade flew backwards and slammed into a tree with a sickening crunch.

"Shade!" I screamed and was relieved when I saw the young shadow wolf start to stand. But unfortunately the werewolf noticed as well. It turned towards her, growling and snarling, with Shade returning the aggression. The two wolves circled the other, each looking for a chance to strike. Knowing that the huge, hulking werewolf would snap little Shade in half, I searched myself for anything that I could use as a distraction. But all my gear was left on the shore and I didn't have enough magicka to fire a Firebolt and Flames wouldn't be able to reach. All I had on me was my Elven dagger. _Wait a minute…_

Once the plan formed in my head, I wasted no time in carrying it out. From where I sat on my branch, I gave a small signal to Shade to try and get the werewolf to walk underneath my branch. Shade, who glanced up at me from time to time, only responded by shaking her head violently up and down once, letting a growl escape from her throat as she did so. I could only hope that was the closest thing to a nod as I'd get. Either way, I settled myself on the branch so that I was positioned in a crouch and drew my dagger. Luckily Shade had caught my signal because the two wolves now circled closer to the tree; so close that at one moment one of them had to pass right underneath me. _Now I just need to time it right._

It seemed like hours ticked away when the perfect chance arose. And it was during that chance that I lightly jumped off the branch and aimed my dagger right for the base of its neck. But right before my blade made contact, the monster's ears pricked at the sound and with otherworldly speed turned its body to look up at me. It let out a savage howl as I landed on its back, but instead of hitting my intended spot, my dagger plunged to the right of its neck, into the shoulder.

The roar from it was deafening. The beast stood on its hind legs, which made it twice as tall as me, and quickly tried to reach around grab me like it did with Shade, but I shifted myself to the center of its back, where it could only uselessly scratch me with its claws. When that proved futile, the beast whipped its head around to try and snap at me but to no avail as well. Failing in all other attempts to fling me off, the werewolf quickly ducked its head downward, this time loosening the dagger from its place in its shoulder and sliding me into a position which put strain on my arm. Quickly I tried to readjust, but the werewolf was counting on that, because just as I let one of my hands go, it flung itself backward and managed to tear the dagger out of itself, and sent me flying into the tree. My head banged against it so hard that it dazed me; my dagger was sent off to the side, out of my reach.

The werewolf then turned to me, its form blurry and nightmarish in my eyes. The creature approached, pausing with each step, like a hunter when it knows that its prey is trapped and wounded and that it can't do anything about it. A low growl came from the werewolf as it neared and I closed my eyes and tensed for the killing blow.

Suddenly the werewolf's low growl amplified to a howl of pain. I opened my eyes and instead of finding a werewolf looming ominously over me, I found the creature standing upright with Shade hanging onto it with her jaw latched into the base of its neck so tightly that for any other creature its bones would have given way with a sickening _crunch_. Only the beast's well-muscled neck prevented Shade's attack from being a finishing blow but the attack still caused the werewolf obvious pain. It slung its head forward and Shade released her hold, turning in midair so that she landed on her feet growling, ready for the man-beast's counterattack. But instead, the werewolf flinched away as if something had bitten its tail. It backed off, and with only a single angry look back at us, it turned and sprinted off into the woods, it chilling howl being the only thing that followed it.

We sat by that tree for a few minutes, shell-shocked and relieved, and the only thought that seemed to make it into my mind was _a werewolf just tried to kill me. And we chased it off._ I turned to look at Shade, who had her happy-go-lucky grin on her face, and smiled. She nuzzled my side and I responded by scratching her behind her right ear and she tilted her head so I could reach.

I took a deep breathe. "Well, Shade, how about you lead us back to where I left my stuff and we both wash this day's grime off. I don't know about you but I'd rather not look like something a cat dragged in when we reach Riften."


	14. Chapter 14: Riften Part 1

**_Well, it's finally time that my characters reach Riften. Unfortunately, I way underestimated how long this chapter will be so the visit to Riften will be several parts, hopefully around 2 but probably 3. This chapter is a little shorter than most but I couldn't find any other place to cut it off. Thought I could get this uploaded earlier but direct dialogue got in the way. Just like writing a story, it's a lot harder than you first think. Oh well, guess I'll be sticking to a chapter a week update. Well, please review and see you soon!_**

_Enough you bumbling idiot! Just pay the man and get on with it! The more you argue, the more you're going to make him mad and raise the dang toll!_ I thought bitterly to myself as of scrawny, petite Nord in front of me continued to refuse to pay the "visitor's tax."_ Of course he's scamming people; it's as plain as day! But if this fool thinks that his cute little speech will make the guard feel any guilt whatsoever then he's barking up the wrong tree. The man cares about money, not ethnics._ By now I had crossed my arms over my chest while I studied the pathetic scene for appeared to be for the hundredth time. The man was dressed in a simple belted tunic and had a large hooked nose, long pure white hair that fell past his shoulders and a huge bald spot on the top of his head, and seemed to carry himself with pride. And from the way that he talked I could tell that the man was very religious. _Great. He's probably a priest. And he's going into a city that's notorious for thieves, corruption, deceit, and all things criminal._ _Real smart._

"This is ridiculous! Absurd! You people have no honor! How can you live with yourself! By the Divines, you people are sick!" said the Nord, whose face was blood red from all his screaming. The guard just leaned against the stone wall impatiently yet seemed to have not a care in the world. Beside me, Shade yawned and stared down at the ground with vague interest, obviously tired of the Nord's rampage.

"Look, the law is the law. You can either pay the tax or move on, but the fee is still 100 septims." Said the guard and even I had to agree with the other Nord that that was pretty steep. But as I watched the scene play out before me, an idea slipped into my head. _This may be a scam, but this brute doesn't seem like someone who could get very far in this field. For one he's a fool. And it's always so easy to trip a fool._

"Excuse me, sir, but you're holding me up and I need to get into the city," I said to the Nord who apparently just noticed that I was there. Once he caught the meaning of my words, the old man looked at me with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, ma 'dam, but it is preposterous that hard-working citizens have to pay an arm and a leg just to enter the city. I've never even heard of a visitor's tax!" he said, his voice getting louder and louder as he spoke.

"I know, sir. How about I pay the tax for you, hmm?" I said politely as I smiled.

"Oh no, I couldn't! Lady Mara forgive, I would feel ashamed if I took money from an innocent young woman like yourself." He said. I groaned inwardly. It's always harder when the other person is humble.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I can pay for both of us and it's not like septims are disappearing from the world." I said. I grabbed 100 septims from my coin purse (which is _very_ well concealed) and handed them to the man. He caught them easily and tilted his head in respect.

"Lady Mara bless you, child! Though I will probably never be able to repay you, I'm sure Lady Mara will in my stead." He said gratefully. He glanced back at the guard. "And may Lady Mara show these people the light." A smile came to his face when he turned back to me. "Oh, I didn't tell you did I? The reason I'm in Riften in the first place is because I'm going to join the Temple of Mara here. Hopefully I'll be able help the head priest with turning this city of corruption around." He said, sounding like a little kid at his favorite candy store. "You should stop by sometime. A kind and charitable soul like yours will always be welcome at the Temple."

And with that the priest turned and handed the gold to the guard, who seemed to want to run something through. Both Shade and I watched very carefully as the guard pocketed the money and I saw that his huge bulging coin purse was loosely tied by his side, right under his sash. _Just what I thought. The man doesn't even know how to hide his coin purse._ I thought gleefully. _He's making this way too easy._

I waited until the priest had gone inside before I approached the guard. He immediately caught sight of me and narrowed his gaze. I stopped and placed my hands on my hips, sizing him up just as he did the same to me. We both stayed silent, waiting for the other to move.

The guard spoke first. "Alright, like with the old man, before I let you into Riften, you need to pay the visitor's tax."

I decided to take test the guard's patience and try the curious route. "What's the tax for?"

I made sure to keep a straight face as the guard gave me a look that said he was done with any nonsense. "For the privilege of entering the city. What does it matter?" he said with annoyance.

"This is obviously a shakedown." I said, Shade growling for inference.

"No, it's a traveler's charge. Now are you going to pay or not?" Said the guard. _Traveler's charge? I thought it was a visitor's tax._ I thought to myself. _This will be so easy._

"Alright, though this is obviously a shakedown, I'll pay." I said, handing him the rest of my gold.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Let me open the gate and you can head into the city." He said with smug confidence. He turned to go and open the gate. I glanced back to Shade, who gave a small nod. _Time to do this._

I started to walk towards the gate, the guard walking jauntily back to his post. As I passed the man, Shade jerked her head back at some noise only she could hear and quickly let out a shrill bark, causing me to turn my head in surprise and trip right into the poor guard. Instinctively he stepped to my left and caught my arm firmly. I tilted my body so the other guard wouldn't see and working with quick diligence, I moved my arm to seemingly grasp the guard's side for support, but my hand brushed over his pathetically concealed coin purse and in a blink of an eye, I yanked the bugling purse from where it hung on his belt and slipped it into the loop of my belt where my own coin purse secretly was before. And with that, I managed to get my feet under me and stand up straight. I looked up at the guard to find that he was facing Shade and was unsuccessfully trying to get her to stop barking by yelling just as loud as she was, though at this point Shade was just being annoying. _So much for discretion._

"Enough, you mangy mutt!" yelled the guard but with a barely discernible nod from me, Shade quickly stopped barking and just stared at the two of us suspiciously, at which I rolled my eyes.

"Hmph," said the guard, crossing his arms. Apparently he thought Shade was stupid enough to take orders from him. _Yeah right. If Shade wants to bark her head off then she's going to bark her head off, no matter who tells her to stop._ "Next time muzzle your damn dog, kid" said the guard and I belatedly realized that he was talking to me.

"Sorry sir, but you know how dogs are. They bark at everything." I said, ignoring him calling me 'kid.' _Ok, I might be only fifteen, but last time I checked, a 'kid' can't outrun assassins for a year and a half and barely leave a trace of their existence._

"Alright, just get inside before you cause any more trouble." He said and after quickly calling Shade back before she 'ran off' into the woods after whatever sound she had heard, we headed into Riften, my stomach clenched tightly in apprehension.

* * *

"I don't know you. You in Riften lookin' for trouble?" said a man aggressively. Shade gave a low growl as I turned to see a Nord man in a full set of steel armor minus the helmet and a steel dagger strapped to his side. He leaned against a post and studied me intensely, sizing me up cynically as if he thought I was just some little insect. _Once again people think that they can push me around. And they're dead wrong._

"I'm not scared of you." I said defiantly, crossing my arms as I did so. But this seemed to just make the Nord mad.

"That's the wrong answer." Said the Nord as he narrowed his eyes. "The last thing the Black-Briars need around here is some troublemaker tryin' to steal a piece of the action." His voice had an edge of warning in it. _Yeah, if you try and bash my head in then you'll be walking away without your own._ I thought.

"Who are the Black-Briars?" I asked, realizing that I didn't know the name. _I've heard that name before, though, but where?_

"The Black-Briars have Riften in their pocket and the Thieves Guild watchin' their back, so keep your nose out of their business. Me? I'm Maul. I watch the streets for 'em. If you need dirt on anythin', I'm your guy… but it'll cost you." He said with a bit of a challenge.

"Dirt, huh? I'm not exactly clean myself…" I said, hoping that the temptation would be hard for this Maul character to resist. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

"Then you're stupider than you look." He said, his voice filled with scorn. "You better watch your ass around here." And with that he took his weight off the beam and turned toward the city.

I narrowed my eyes at his back, but quickly an idea came into my head and in one deft movement, I grabbed a handful of gold and gave it a quick glance.

"Hey," I called. Maul looked over his shoulder, his eyes half open. A look of shock came to him as he caught sight of the gold that I threw his way. Immediately the Nord turned and caught with one hand, which lowered as he went through the gold. As he counted I took his place against the beam and crossed my arms; Shade took her place by my side, her head held high, signaling that anyone who messed with me messed with her as well. Without waiting for him I said tersely, "Spill it. Now."

Maul looked up with a grin. "Pleasure doing business with you. So what do you want to know?"

I paused for a moment, unsure of how to start. _Should I just come out and ask him or should I go for something a bit simpler? Well, I guess I could test him, see if he's worth it. I shouldn't ask too many people and leave a trail, after all._ "Tell me more about the Black-Briars" I said.

"Well, you got Maven, she pretty much runs the whole operation. She's got friends in high places if you know what I mean. She's also got ties to the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild, so basically no one can touch her." He met my gaze squarely now. "Just remember, if she tells you to do somethin' … you damn well better do exactly what she says." When Maul finished talking, he was barely an inch from my face and only backed away with a mirthless laugh when Shade growled.

_Hmm. Too easy. Another question._ "Know anything about the Thieves Guild?" I asked.

Maul laughed for real this time. "You kiddin'? My brother Dirge works in their hideout. I used to run with them myself, but took a job with Maven after they started hittin' a rough patch. If you want to get in on that action, find Bynjolf in the marketplace. I'm sure he could use someone like you." He said, looking me up and down.

_Well, it seems he does know a lot. And he's not one to be intimidated lightly. Perhaps it's time to see what he really knows._ "Thanks for the tip. Just one more thing," I said as I rummaged through my knapsack and came out with a note; the same note that I've been rereading every night trying to unsuccessfully figure out since I looted it off its owner. "Do you know anything about who wrote this note? Or who it is addressed to?" I asked as I handed him the note.

Maul swiftly took it out of my hand and began to read its contents. His brow furrowed as he read and when he lifted his head to meet my gaze, his face was emotionless, but his eyes studied me with renewed curiosity. "Do you have a Dark Brotherhood contract on your head?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

I snorted and said, "No, of course not! If I knew that someone from the Dark Brotherhood wrote that note then I'd wouldn't have taken it to you or even _be_ here for that matter."

Maul gave short bark of a laugh and looked back down at the note. "Well, I can't tell much from this note, only that you must a damn good fighter in order to evade these people. They sound like an assassin group, and if they are then they need to watch their backs because the Dark Brotherhood is swift when it comes to competitors, but these people want you alive?" he phrased that last part in the form of a question.

"Yeah, don't know why though, which is what I'm trying to find out. But before I can figure out the why, I need to figure out the whom. So, know anything?" I said.

Maul sighed. "Well, kid, I honestly don't have a damn clue. Never heard of these people or even that there was an assassin group starting up, and I know just about anything." He paused, then added, "These two names here, Galos and Dralas Zenammu, they both sound elven,"

I scoffed at the remark. "Really. Well, considering I'm an Elf, that fact would obviously escape me. Yeah, of course they're elven, Dunmer no doubt."

Maul held up his hands. "Hey, I'm just saying. Last time I checked, you wanted information on these guys. Well, I'm giving you information." As he lowered his hands, a thought came into his head. "Hey, these people, what kind of armor they wear?" he asked.

"Dark brown leather with some sort of bone-like material on it. Never seen anything like it so it's kind of hard to explain." I said with a sigh. _I swear these people leave less of a trace than I do._

"Hmph. Not much to go on, but I can ask around. You should too." A mischievous smile crept to his face. "After reading this, I'm intrigued."

"No. I don't need this leaving a trace for a certain group of people to follow. It's one of the only ways that I've been able to avoid them for so long." I said, ignoring that I was allowing concern into my voice.

Maul laughed at my worry. "Oh, don't get so worked up. I know how to be discreet. You, on the other hand, should go see Delvin Mallory of the Thieves Guild. He's well known for his contacts. Might be able to get what you're looking for. Just tell Maul sent you his way."

"How do I find the Thieves Guild?" I asked.

"Easy. They're in the Ratway. Need directions, go talk to anyone in town." He handed the note back to me.

"Thanks." I said, figuring that it was good that I at least had a lead. _Hopefully this Delvin Mallory will have the answers I need. Or can point me in the right direction._ And with that, I stepped away from the beam that I had been leaning against, which was quickly replaced by Maul.

"No problem. Tell me what you find out." Said Maul as he took his place back. I nodded and both Shade and I started down the road further into the city.

"Hey!" called Maul. I turned and found a dark smile on his face. "Welcome to Riften." He said.

I smiled back at him as Shade gave a howling bark. And together we turned and headed deeper into Riften, home of the Thieves Guild.


	15. Chapter 15: Riften Part 2

**_Well, it looks like I was able to get chapter 15 up today. But then again, this chapter was dying to be written and it was actually pretty fun. I plan to put up the next one really quick as I hope you guys will be ready to read it! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get as far a I wanted but I guess that just means that there will be more for part 3 and I guess where I ended it is as good as place as any. Only one more thing to add and that is that I wanted to name each separate parts but apparently there is a rather big restriction on the number of characters in a chapter title. So I've decided to say it here. Riften Part 1 was supposed to be called Riften Part 1: Welcome to Riften. And if I had had my way then this chapter would have been called Riften Part 2: Testing the Darkness. Well, please enjoy and review!_**

"Rare trinkets and the finest oddities from Morrowind!"

"Buying and selling fine jewelry over here!"

"Buy some armor and live to tell about it!"

"Fresh meats and produce! Get them before they're gone!"

"Learn a library's worth of knowledge in moments or grow back that missing limb with my genuine Falmerblood Elixir." Came the voices of several merchants calling out their wares. The marketplace of Riften was a large circle with a low stone wall bordering it off, with the only breaks in the wall leading off to four separate directions; one to the way I'd came, which also was the way to the inn, the Bee and Barb; one that lead to what seemed like a temple, specifically the Temple of Mara; one that lead to a huge stone keep that I later learned was called Mistveil Keep; and the last one lead off to the blacksmith and further beyond to a pair of doors which lead down to the docks (which I learned later as well). Inside the circle were four stalls manned by a male Dunmer who sold merchandise from his homeland of Morrowind, a grumpy female Breton who sold armor, a male Argonian who sold fine jewelry, and a male Nord that I noticed had fiery red hair and seemed to attract most of the business and sold some sort of odd elixir. Right outside the circle was a Dunmer woman who sold vegetables. _Too bad money's tight with me. It'd be interesting to see what these people sold._

"Running a little light in the pockets, lass?" said a voice with a peculiar accent and I quickly whirled to face it's owner with one hand on my dagger and the other ready to burn anything in front of me. I stopped myself short when I saw that it was the red-haired Nord.

"Whoa, easy, lass! Didn't mean to scare you but you didn't have to pull a dagger on me!" said the Nord with his hands held in surrender. Quickly I lowered my arms but like always I was still ready for a fight.

"I'm sorry, what?" I said, ignoring his comment on my dagger.

"Your pockets… they're a little low on coin. I can tell." He said, a strange twinkle in his eye. _That can't be good._

"How can you possibly know that?" I asked, feeling Shade tense up beside me, though she refrained from growling. I also had to stop myself from going to check my coin purse.

"It's all about sizing up your mark, lass. The way they walk, what they're wearing. It's a dead giveaway."

"My wealth is none of your business." I said, my tone turning defensive.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, lass. Wealth is my business. Maybe you'd like a taste?" he said temptingly. But instantly I caught on.

"Sorry, but I only work for myself. I find that loyalties are easily restricting." I said, a trace of sarcasm lining my voice. _Yeah right if you think that I'm going to play your little game. I joined guilds before when I was desperate and both ended in complete disaster._

"Alright, lass, I can take a hint. Come find me here when you change your mind." He said. _Like heck I won't._ The red-haired Nord walked back to his stand and began to yell out his "miracle elixir" from where he stood.

I moved out of the open and leaned against the side of a building as I watch the merchants try and draw customers, but only the Nord seemed to be having any luck. Or rather, everyone quickly flocked to him to waste their money before realizing that the other merchants were actually selling something important. _How stupid of them. His elixirs are so obviously a scam with him over advertising it!_

Suddenly I felt a tug on my leg and looked down to see that Shade had been trying to get my attention. "What is it, girl?" I asked her. Shade responded my whining and motioning her head over to the Nord. "You want me to do his job!?" I asked incredulous. Shade groaned in annoyance and pointed her head over to him one more time.

"Shade, I don't understand, girl." I said exasperated. Shade groaned and, bouncing on the balls of her feet like a happy-go-lucky dog, went right up to the Nord. She let out a joyful bark and tried to sniff the elixir he had in his hand. The Nord grinned down at her, raised the bottle out of her reach, and looked over at me slyly. I lifted my hand and waved; the same mischievous smile on my face. The Nord threw back his head and laughed, only stopping when Shade tried to jump for the elixir. The Nord shook his head at Shade, who then tried to beg for the bottle. After that didn't work, the young wolf spotted a large sack off to the side of the stall and with her infamous wolfish grin, launched herself at the sack and started to pull it away. The Nord's and my eyes widened and we quickly sprang into action: the Nord to grab Shade and pull her off the sack while I crouched down and snuck behind the stall.

"Hey, you bloody dog! Give that back!" yelled the Nord as chased after Shade, but the shadow wolf continued to drag the sack past the Dunmer's stall and out towards where the temple stood. "I could use a little help here!" called the Nord and he was quickly followed by the guards and several of the city's residents, thus emptying the marketplace of all prying eyes. _Clever move, Shade. Now let's hope you don't get yourself killed in the process._ I thought as I grabbed a bottle of the Nord's Falmerblood Elixir. _One more won't._ I thought as I grabbed another.

I was about to go and end Shade's distraction when the glint of metal against the sun caught my eye. I looked and found a strongbox sitting by the Nord's stand. I glanced over to find that Shade was taking the crowd around toward Mistveil Keep and quickly set to work on it, but my lockpick broke before I even tried to turn the lock. _Dang it. This one requires a key. I bet he has it on him and I'm good at pickpocketing. Oh well. I'll just compensate for the broken lockpick._ I snagged another bottle and hurried away before I was caught.

I stood in the shadows across from a place called the Black-Briar Meadery and waited until Shade glanced my way. Upon motioning for her to join me, Shade immediately dropped the sack and fled into the shadows, leaving no trace for the guards to find. I myself stayed hidden until everyone gave up the chase and went back to their daily routine. Soon after I felt a nudge on my leg and looked down to find that Shade was beside me.

With a smile, I shook the wolf's head back and forth, causing Shade to whine. "Alright, you nuthead. I hope your little joyride was worth it. Next time fill me in a little bit more before going off to do something like that." Shade flattened her ears against her head and nudged me with her nose, but I quickly pushed her back. "Alright, alright. Let's see what we got here." I said as I sat down crisscross and stuffed the two of the bottles into my knapsack. I uncorked the final bottle of Falmerblood Elixir and put it up to my mouth and started to drink, but as soon as the liquid touched my tongue, I quickly spit it out in a rather unladylike fashion.

"Ugh! What's in this stuff?" I asked myself as I sniffed its contents, and having lived a good part of my recent life in the wild, recognized it within seconds. _This is animal blood mixed with water! No wonder Shade wanted it so badly. She eats or drinks anything that came from an animal._ And right on cue, Shade nosed her way past my arm and tried to lick the lip of the bottle. "Oh, stop it! I'll get a bowl and pour it for you. Later. Right now we need to find the Thieves Guild." A sudden thought came to me. _Crud. That Nord in the market place is probably in league with them! And if I try and go talk to him he'll probably make a scene and have me thrown into the prisons. And that is seriously the last thing I need right now._

I quickly got up and glanced back at the market place for a second before heading in the opposite direction. _Maybe I can try the Bee and Barb. You can always get a good rumor from the inn keeper. Let's just hope I don't have to stay long. Bad enough to cause a scene that I can be indirectly related to. The last thing I need is someone being able to point those murderers in my direction._ From my right, Shade gave another bark and nosed for the bottle I had in my hand. "Shade!" I scolded and quickly put it in my knapsack despite her protests. I shook my head at my wolf. "You know, I spoil you way too much." Shade responded with a grin.

"Then perhaps you could spoil me instead." Said a cool voice from behind me. I turned to see a Nord with close-cropped brown hair, dark eyes, and a faint trace of a beard. He wore a rich set of blue nobleman clothing with matching shoes, and a steel dagger was strapped to his belt. He looked at me with the kind of hunger in his eyes that I was accustomed to seeing in people like Malcolm, and once that thought was finished, fear settled into the pit of my stomach. From her place behind me, Shade growled menacingly.

"I could make it worth your while, you know." The man continued, despite the fact that Shade fully ready to kill him the moment he made a move and I had my hand on my dagger. When he closed the distance between us he pulled down my hood and began to stroke my hair. "Well, well, aren't you a filthy mess? I guess I can fix that before I-" I interrupted his train of thought by slapping his hand away.

"Don't touch me." I said in a cold, hard voice as Shade growled a little louder. The Nord's expression turned just as hard as my own and in a flash he grabbed my wrists and pinned me up against the wall. His dagger quickly found itself against my throat, his face barely an inch behind it. The move had been so fast that Shade had been to slow to react and now seemed to be wary of the idea of making her own move, though her eyes showed a primal instinct to protect her own and the pure hatred that showed on her face was enough to make any sane man drop their weapon and run, though this man wasn't looking at Shade. He was looking at me with the same lust, desire, and cruelty that Malcolm always looked at me with.

I struggled to free myself but found his grip too tight. He pressed his dagger further into my neck and a stab of pain pierced my mind. My breathing came in quick, shallow bursts and I forced myself to look the man directly in the face, somehow keeping the panic running through me out of my face.

"Now you listen to me you ungrateful little urchin. I am a member of one of _the_ most powerful family in Riften. You do not touch me like that _ever_ again." He shook me. "You hear me!?" he spat in my face.

I responded by spitting right back into his face. "Oblivion take you," I said heartlessly. The Nord's fury was quick as he slammed my head against the wall and pressed the dagger so hard that it made me gasp. Shade's growl turned to a snarl as she watched, waiting for a chance to strike without hitting me. The Nord turned to Shade for the first time and hissed, "Back off, mutt." He spat the last word.

"Back off yourself!" I cried and just as he turned back to me, I took my knee and slammed it in a spot I knew would hurt. The man cried out in pain and jerked himself away from me, dragging a fine line across my neck as he did so. Shade saw this opportunity and launched herself at my attacker, her jump easily reaching his chest. As she soared through the air with her jaws wide to rip open his neck, a realization hit me.

"Shade,_STOP_!" I screamed as my wolf bounded into the man, knocking him flat on his chest. Luckily my word got through to her, because now Shade stood on top of the man, her teeth to his throat, ready to enact her revenge, and one more dead man and possible explanation to the guards avoided.

"What is going on out here?" demanded a voice and I looked up from the scene to see two people step out of the Meadery. The first one was a Nord woman with dark brown hair pulled back in the usual style, cool, demeaning dark eyes, and a mouth so tight that it had gone purple. She wore nobleman clothes similar to the man on the ground but these were red instead of blue, matching boots, and a steel dagger was strung through her belt. I didn't have a chance to get a good look at the other person as the first was already speaking.

"Sibbi!?" she said as she recognized the man on the ground. Quickly her eyes turned on me and her face turned scarlet. "You. How dare you attack my grandson! Get you beast off the heir to the Black-Briar Meadery right now or you will have more than just the guards to worry about!" Her voice was as cold as ice and it was upon catching a word she had said did I then realize the situation. _Black-Briar! That is Maven Black-Briar, the one person in this dang rathole of a city you're not supposed to cross. Ugh. Why must I always anger the one person that can bribe every guard in Skyrim!_ Quickly after that thought had gone through my head did I kick into action.

"Shade, get off him." I said indifferently. Shade just growled, obviously wanting to make this man pay for hurting me and not caring about the consequences. _Gods, Shade, any other time._ "Shade," I said, making my voice urgent. Luckily it got her attention. "Shade let him go now. He's not worth it anyway." Shade seemed to consider this for a moment and then took her teeth slowly away from the Sibbi (who had been shaking like a leaf the whole time), allowing them to graze his throat as she hopped off of him. Shade gave him one more low growl before taking her place by my side.

"Next time I suggest you refrain from letting your fleabag animal anywhere near my family, unless you want to see just how far my connections go." Said Maven acidly as Sibbi stood up, clutching his throat like it was some battle wound.

"Next time your grandson should refrain from trying to pick any odd girl off the street, as some of us bite." I said just as coldly back. I felt something running down my throat and upon removing my hand, found it to be blood.

Sibbi quickly responded to my remark. "How dare you! I would never sleep with a dirty little elf like you. You are just bitter that you couldn't defile a wealthy man such as me, you bloody-"

"Oh, yes, and it was also me who decided to slit my own throat with _your_ dagger." I said, showing the blood on my hand to everyone and baring my wound to them. I also tapped my Elven dagger where it rested on my hip, unsheathed and I humorously watched as Sibbi's lie fell apart. Sibbi tried to make up an excuse but Maven stopped him.

"Enough, Sibbi. Let me handle this unless you need a few months to think about your behavior." Maven said. SIbbi turned blood red but quickly gave in.

"Very well, grandmother, I will be at the manor after you have dealt with _her_." He said emotionlessly before whirling on his heels, stringing together a long list of curses and what would probably be the most outrageous lie ever told. _Gods that man is a brat._

Maven turned back to me. "I'm warning you, next time you or your damn animal come anywhere near my family or even my business, you will but a memory."

"Well, lucky for you I think your grandson learned his lesson when Shade knocked him to the ground, so that shouldn't be a problem." I said sarcastically, even though I knew I was starting to go too far. _Eh, I got a whole group of assassin after me, so I'm already big in the enemy department._ And with that, I determinedly walked right past Maven Black-Briar, whose cool, calm demeanor barely hid her rage.

"I'm not done with you!" spat Maven.

"Well, I'm done with you." I said back, but my retort was quickly cut short as the other person, who had been silent the whole time, made a move to leave and quickly tripped me as I walked past. They caught my arm in a firm grip as I fell and swiftly pulled me to my feet; my mellow green eyes meeting two startling blue ones, that being the only part of her that I could see, as the rest was covered in a long black cloak.

"Sorry, I should really be more careful." Said a seductively warm voice that sent shivers down my spine.

"Uh, um, S-sorry about that." I stuttered, for some reason this woman made me unsure of myself. The woman laughed beautifully, but stopped herself short when she looked down. She stooped over and picked off a small piece of paper off the ground and handed it to me. "I believe you dropped this," she said and I quickly recognized the note and stuffed it in my knapsack. _I thought I had that secured._ The woman let go of me and I briskly and woodenly walked away, not trusting myself to do anything but move. As I started to cross the bridge that led to Mistveil Keep, Shade grabbed the hastily stuffed note from my knapsack and it fell to the floor, where the wind picked it up and started to take it over the canal.

_No!_ was the one word that ran through my mind as I snatched the paper back, giving Shade a good glare before turning back to the note. Out of the corner of the folded paper I noticed that a piece of the writing was wrong and quickly opened the note. _Wait a moment. This isn't Dralas's note. This isn't even mine!_ But as I read I realized that it was.

_We Know._

_Everything._

The signature was a handprint.


	16. Chapter 16: Riften Part 3

**Well, apparently what I thought would be a week long hold turned out much longer than what I expected. Especially since I finally decided to send my laptop off for repairs that were long over due. But now at last everything is back to normal in my life and that means being able to write again. Like my previous Riften chapters, I've had to cut it off short due to the fact that it would end up far too long for my liking. Oh well, guess it just means that I know where to pick up at. On a final note, this chapter actually had a longer title than what is posted (I truly hate character limits). The original chapter title is Riften Part 3: Unexpected Help. Hopefully the next chapter will be sooner in coming. And with that I'll leave you with this long overdue chapter.**

I quickly looked around, but both Maven and the woman she was with had vanished. _Oh gods, is that woman with the…_ Feeling every eye in the city on me, I sprinted down one of the roads and hid behind the nearest object, which happened to be a statue of a man. Once I was sure that I was securely hidden, I pressed my head against the stone and tried to control my rapid breathing.

_This can't be happening. This note, it says that they know 'everything'. What do they mean by that? That they know who my assassins are? Or are they referring to something I'd done? If this is who I think they are, if they're the Dark Brotherhood… Oh gods, what do they want?_ I closed my eyes as I tried to make sense of my frantic mind, but to no avail. I read the note again only to be more confused. _We know everything. C'mon, Mivryna, think! You got to know what that means. But then how long has the Dark Brotherhood been watching me? Possibly a pretty long time. After all, they are assassins! That is, if this is the Dark Brotherhood. Oh, use your head! Everyone knows that the Dark Brotherhood's symbol is a black handprint!_

I opened my eyes to find Shade lying on my legs looking up at me with worried eyes. I gave her a wan smile and scratched her behind her ears, but she wasn't fooled and moved back to get a better look at me. "Don't worry, girl. After all, we have so many enemies, what's one more going to change." After Shade responded with a whine, I laid my hand on her head. _Ugh, she's right. Maybe we can stay one step ahead of our pursuers, but the Dark Brotherhood? Our chances are falling with every second._ "But when the moment comes, we'll just fight all that harder." I murmured, some strength coming back to my voice. _But why send a note?_ Came the final question. But I was spared answering it as just then I heard the sound of stone grinding against stone. _What in the world could that be?_

Listening harder, I found that the sound was coming from over by the graveyard. Peering from behind the stature, I watched as something seemed to move in the mausoleum at the back of the graveyard and a figure emerge. That figure was a woman dressed in all black. I decided to wait until she came closer, but a slight breeze came towards us, allowing Shade to catch the woman's scent. Immediately her ears pricked up and she ran barking up to the woman like she was a friend that she hadn't seen in years. And even weirder was that the woman kneeled down and scratched Shade behind her right ear, which only I knew as her favorite spot. But before I could make sense of what I was seeing, Shade bounded back to me as happy as a puppy, the woman not far behind and now coming into better view.

Her black clothing was actually thick leather armor with buckles and pockets covering it everywhere, complete with a hood that hung on her shoulders, revealing a lightly tanned face with pale red lips, stormy gray eyes, and, most notably, fiery red hair tied into a high ponytail with two braids that started at the front of head, traveled along the side, and into the ponytail, along with two thick bangs. From where I crouched behind the stature, I could see that she was a Breton, but oddly well-muscled, but that was due her Nord heritage. Besides her matching armor, all she wore was a jade and sapphire circlet that I knew was enchanted for Illusion magic, a strange silver amulet; two circles with three diamonds that started in the middle and stretched out in three separate directions and had a circle in the middle of each of them, and a stalhrim dagger strapped to her belt. When she caught sight of me, she stood with her legs apart and her arms crossed, looking down like I was a little puppy who had gotten into the cookie jar. But her smile said otherwise.

"Mivryna Faryon." She said, as always her voice sounded a little high-pitched; excited in way.

"Alyssa Vanne." I said, standing up. But I soon found that was a mistake as Alyssa quickly gripped me in a hard hug.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." She said after she released me.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Really. Well, last time I checked, you have a few questions that I still need answering."

Alyssa gave me her infamous cat-like grin. "Alright then, let's go get a drink." And with that she abruptly grabbed me by the arm and half-walked, half-dragged me down the path to the Bee and Barb. All the way I swear I could feel everyone's eyes on me.

* * *

"So, where have you been all this time. 'Cause I know you weren't at the College." Said Alyssa as she put down her mead tankard. Her eyes cast over my own cup, which was filled with tea. I rolled my eyes. The two of us sat in an empty Bee and Barb, except for the bartender Keerava, her husband Talen-Jei, and a mercenary named Marcurio, according to Alyssa. Shade laid at my feet, seemingly bored out of her mind but actually intently listening for any signs of danger and just plain interested in the conversation that was starting to take place.

"Oh, please, Alyssa, spare me the speech." I said.

"I didn't say nothin'. But if I was, I would say that you are _living on your own!_ Seriously, nobody cares." She said with a smile before taking another big gulp.

"Yeah, well you forget that _there are people after me!_" I whispered the last part. Instantly Alyssa's brows reached her hairline and her expression showed concern, as well as it should. After all, Alyssa is, and always has been, the only person that I've fully trusted with my past.

"They're back?" Alyssa said, leaning over the table so we wouldn't be overheard. Before I could answer, something passed over my friend's eyes and then she said, "They're the ones responsible for…" she trailed off like I would know.

"For what? For killing my parents? Alyssa, these people are responsible for a lot of things!" I said, my voice rising.

Alyssa flinched like I tried to smack her. She breathed in a deep and slow breath and quietly said, "I was going to ask if they were the ones responsible for kicking you out of the College."

My stomach twisted inside of me. "Oh." I said, feeling guilty for going off on her. Now it was my turn to take a deep breathe. "Yeah, yeah they are. Killed Nirya and ran off. Managed to stab one in the chest, though that didn't help. Guard came, saw me standing over her with a bloody blade, and made the obvious assumption."

"Damn, talk about bad timing." Said Alyssa, shaking her head. Suddenly she snapped her head upward like a deer when it thinks it's heard a wolf nearby. "You're getting me off topic. How 'bout we go one at a time and start at the beginning. You first."

I sighed. "You don't skip a beat, do you?" Alyssa responded with a smile. "Ugh, where do I start?" I wondered out loud.

"How about the beginning." Said Alyssa with her cat-smile. Now it was my turn to smile. And with that I told her everything that had happened after I was kicked out of the College of Winterhold. While I told my story, I couldn't help but wonder what Alyssa had been up to. The two of us had met at our first class at the College and we soon became friends. We helped each other, despite the fact that we had different views on learning (you have cast the spell 20 times and it is still not working. Read the stupid spell tome before you blow off the rest of your dang hair!). But two months before the assassins attacked me and killed Nirya, Alyssa suddenly up and decides to pack up and leave, the only thing left being a note that said that she wasn't coming back. Guess I know where she went.

"So, this note I found is the only lead in a year and a half that can possibly tell me who killed my parents and why they want me alive." I said, handing her the note. She took it and read it. After finishing her tankard (this was her third now) and calling for her fourth, she then looked me in the eye.

"So you now know for sure that these people want you alive?" she asked.

"Yeah, I had my suspicions considering they basically said that to my mother before they killed her." I said and again Alyssa flinched at my harshness. I rubbed my head as I said, "but now I'm quite certain that they won't stop. It's just…"

"They're good." Alyssa finished for me. "and I'm going to help you find them."

My eyebrows once again were raised pretty high. "How are you going to do that?"

"Well, let's just say that I have quite a few friends that who can get the kind of dirt that isn't easy to find." She said, crossing her arms for a few moments until her drink came. After she took a swig, I had to ask her, "How in the world can you get that kind? The only possible way I can get the information I need is by talking to a member of the Thieves Guild, and I have no clue how to find them."

Oddly, Alyssa laughed. At my confused look, she turned serious. "Wait, you don't recognize what I'm wearing?" I studied it for a moment longer and the memory hit me like an arrow.

"I have seen that armor before! Just that it was a different color." I said and suddenly the pieces clicked.

"That's because the black armor is that of a Higher Operative. Like me." Her cat smile was now a little daunting.

"You're a member of the Thieves Guild." I said, more to myself than to Alyssa.

"Correction. I am the Guild Master of the Thieves Guild." Now I remembered why her smile always seemed so creepy. It was because even during her time at the College she was a natural at somehow having things that weren't hers.

"Do I even _want_ to know that story?" was the first question that came out of my mouth, but my only answer was another one of Alyssa's infamous grins.

"Perhaps. It's actually a really good story, but I'm afraid that it'll have to wait for later. C'mon, let's go meet the Guild." She said just as chugged the last of her tankard. She grabbed me by the arm and briskly headed toward the door, Shade quickly catching up. On the way out, Alyssa stopped by Talen-Jei and produced several coins. "Talen." She said simply and the Argonian easily caught the gold. With our drinks paid, Alyssa threw open the tavern doors and pulled the both of us out into the Skyrim chill, but not before Shade gave two short barks.

I turned to see what had caught her interest and followed her gaze back to our table, which was on the opposite side of the room from the bar and by the wall that hid the stairs to the upper level. But Shade wasn't looking at the table. Instead she was looking just past it, by the edge of the wall, where a figure stood, the shadows hiding their features but at the same time I could tell they were cloaked in dark clothing. And they were staring straight at me.

Alyssa, who hadn't noticed anything amiss, gave me another firm tug out the door, forcing me to turn my attention back to her so I wouldn't trip. I glanced back again just before the doors closed, only to find that the figure was gone.

* * *

"Hey Alyssa, you mind tell me what we're doing back in the graveyard? Cause I thought the Thieves Guild lived in the Ratway." I called over to Alyssa who was heading to the small mausoleum that stood in the back of the graveyard. I stood just at the entrance with Shade, the both of us a bit skeptical about what was going through Alyssa's mind. After all, the rumors were that the Guild hung out in the sewers beneath the city, not in Riften's tiny graveyard.

But Alyssa just gave a playful chuckle. "Hold on, little elf, I haven't even revealed the best part yet." She said as she entered the mausoleum and went up to the only tomb within. Once there, she leaned down and moved as if to press some sort of button. Immediately the grinding noise from before appalled my ears and Alyssa stepped back as the floor in front of the tomb pulled away to reveal a set of stone steps.

"Whoa!" was the only thing that I came out of my mouth. Alyssa looked at me with a questioning look.

"What? Didn't you even wonder for a second what I was doing back there?" She asked me.

"No because I was too busy thinking 'Hey, Shade! Where the heck are you going?'" I shot back at her, causing Alyssa to laugh and look down at the young wolf smiling up at her.

I decided to try and not change the conversation. "So where does this thing exactly lead anyway?" I asked.

Alyssa smiled. "Straight into the heart of the Thieves Guild. That's why it's a secret." She said, putting one finger over her mouth and imitated hushing me. "Everybody who's in the Guild uses it. After all, who wants to go through the sewers all the time?" With that, the red-haired Breton descended down the stairs and to the end of the short corridor and turned back to me. "What are you waiting for? An invitation? I took this route because it's shorter, not so you could stand there and gawk." And with that my friend-turned-thief opened the hatch and slipped down into dark. "And don't forget to pull the chain when you come down here!" she called before letting the flap fall down.

With a quick look back to make sure no one was watching, I stepped down into the earth and, after pulling the chain to move the stone back into place, followed Alyssa's move and climbed down the ladder after her. Once firmly on the ground, I turned to find myself in a large circular room, with a walkway surrounding the outside and four stone "bridges" leading up to a raised stone platform in the middle. All around the walkway were beds, banners, and several other home accessories, not to mention the target dummies and weapon racks. Excluding the one I came out of, three other doorways led off from the room, but I wouldn't have time to explore as just ahead of me, Alyssa was causally talking to a hooded Bosmer in brown leather armor. When he caught sight of me, he tensed up like I had thrown ice water on him. _Great. Didn't Alyssa think that the Guild wouldn't like her bringing me down here? Guess not._

Alyssa caught the Bosmer's tense reaction and turned to see me. From behind me, I could hear a dull thud as Shade skipped the ladder and just jumped right on down. Shade's appearance quickly caused the elf's eyes to light up in wonder, and then turn back to me in surprise. At his lack of speech, Alyssa put her hands on her hips and glared at him, "Oh, by the Divines, Niruin, quit staring and go get Delvin. I need him." She said simply.

"Y-yes, Guildmaster." he replied before heading off, his eyes never wanting to leave Shade.

"What has him so freaked out?" Alyssa wondered aloud.

"Probably Shade. Bosmers hold great respect for shadow wolves and anyone they align themselves with.

"Oh." Alyssa said in slow realization. She quickly recovered. "C'mon, this way." She said, motioning with her arm. As I followed her toward her desk, every member looked up and stared at me, some in curiosity and others in disgust or concern. I quickly avoided their gazes and stayed close behind Alyssa, while Shade was a bit more confident and met every stare with a growl or her teeth bared.

As we approached the Guild Master's desk, the door on the opposite side of the room flew open and I watched as the Bosmer Niruin reappeared with two others behind him. As they came closer, I could see that one was an Imperial woman with white blond hair and piercing pale green eyes. One look from her and I could tell that she was definitely not one to mess with and she walked as if she had come to chew my head off. The man beside her was a much older Breton who was nearly bald, with only brown stubble giving you a hint of his hair color, as well as a wispy beard and mustache. Unlike the Imperial woman, the man gave me a cheerful smile when he caught sight of me and walked as if being called on by his boss for unknown reasons was something that happened every day.

Upon reaching us the woman crossed her arms across her chest and immediately directed herself to Alyssa. "What in Nirn are you doing, Alyssa? I send you off to find a damn urn and you bring back some kid." At her remark, my eyebrows rose, for one, last time I heard, Alyssa was the one in charge, not her.

"Vex, last time I checked, I did not ask Niruin to bring you, only Delvin. _And_, being Guild Master, I can bring anyone I want into the Guild not have your say-so. Clear?" Alyssa leveled a stern gaze at the Imperial, surprising everyone who was in earshot. No matter what, anyone who's ever met Alyssa Vanne would say that she's a firey woman, peppy even, but not stern.

If the woman was shocked by the retort, she didn't show it. "Clear." Was all she said before giving me a look that clearly said _stay out of my way_. Luckily the tense air was broken by the Breton.

"You wanted to see me boss?" he asked and I had to glance at him a second time to make sure that that was his real voice. _Sounds like he either has a real bad head cold or broke his nose. And from the way nobody seemed to notice, I'd say the latter._

"Yeah, I did. Delvin, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine." Said Alyssa as she motioned toward me. Delvin turned toward me and for a moment studied me up and down, as if testing me. Vex did the same and in return both Shade and I studied their movements like our lives depended on it (and sometimes it has).

But apparently these people liked others with such tactics, as Delvin soon broke out into an enormous grin and held out his hand. "Well, nice to meet ya. The name's Delvin Mallory. And you?"

I took his hand and shook it firmly, a crooked smile on my face. "Mivryna Faryon. And I've been looking for you, Delvin Mallory."


	17. Chapter 17: Riften Part 4

**Once again I write a chapter and once again that chapter turns out exceedingly long. At least this time I was able to cut the chapter in half without too much difficulty. And even better, because I had to cut this in half, most of my next chapter is already completed and just needs a few revisions before posting. Unfortunately I thought that I might be able to post this and the next chapter on the same day (would have been nice, wouldn't) but unfortunately time has caught up with me, with it being way too late to do anything at the time. Oh well, I should have it up by tomorrow as long as nothing gets in the way, which shouldn't happen. Final note: the chapter was supposed to be called Riften Part 4: The Request. With that, I'll be signing off for the day. Please review.**

"Really, now. What, pray tell, could I do for you?" asked Delvin as he released his grip on my hand. Behind him, Vex just snorted, causing Alyssa to give her an evil eye.

"Mivryna needs your help in finding the people who killed her parents. She has a note with two of the members' names on it." Alyssa quickly said before I could open my mouth.

"Alyssa!" I nearly shouted.

"What? You were going to tell them everything so why not go ahead and say it." She said matter-of-factly.

"Maybe I didn't want to tell them everything!" I hissed to her.

"Why not? You told me." She argued.

"Yeah, but only after I fully trusted you and was ready to tell you the whole story!"

"Well, you didn't say that it had to be a secret."

"Well, apparently I have to tell you that specifically." I shot back, anger turning my cheeks red.

"Oh give it up! Your damn little 'secret' is out now so just give Delvin the stupid note so we can all get on with our lives!" shouted Vex, making every head in the room turn to stare at us.

"Oi! Don't you louts have a job to do or are you all really that bored?" said Alyssa, her voice filled with power, and I watched as every thief in the room ran for the closest exit, varying degrees of fear on their faces. When all of them had left I looked back and, for the first time, truly studied my best friend. She still looked the same physically, but now for once she seemed worn through, making me wonder what she'd been through in the months since she left. Due to the stillness of the room now, Alyssa turned toward me, and her eyes seemed hard, like the real Alyssa had been replaced with some sort of beast. _A beast that is both ruthless and powerful. And also seemingly familiar…_

Shade barked, sending echoes against the wall of the rounded room and snapping me out of my daze. Realizing that I still hadn't given Delvin the note yet, I hurriedly pulled it out and handed it to him. "Here's the letter." I said, my voice sounding a little wooden.

"Ah, 'preciate you handing this over. With it, I might actually get somewhere." He scanned over it, quickly reading over the parts he needed. He looked up at me when he was done. "You mind if I keep this with me for future references? 'Fraid I don't know anything right now but I'm sure one of my contacts might have something."

"Sure. Won't do me any good. By the way, how much will I owe you?" I said carefully, waiting for him to give me some huge number or something.

"Nah, don't worry about it. A friend of Alyssa's is a friend of ours. And we look after our own. I'll just consider it a personal favor." Delvin replied, a grin spreading across his face. _You know, I kind of like him._

"Well, Delvin may be all nicey-nice with you, but for one, what I want to know is what's with the damn dog?" said Vex (_her, not so much_), and every head (strangely even Delvin's) turned to look at her in shock. Immediately the room was filled with Shade's deep growl as she lowered her head and glared up at the Imperial, her lips turning up just slightly. Vex just seemed amused.

"Oh, so now it does something other than stare." She scoffed, crossing her arms and turning her head away in disinterest. _Does she want her throat torn out?_

"Vex… I wouldn't try and piss off a shadow wolf. They can be downright dangerous if they want to." Said Delvin, looking at Shade as if she would explode.

"What the hell is a shadow wolf?" said Vex.

"A wolf that's smart enough to understand when she's being insulted and will bite your head off to prove a point." Said Alyssa, who for now seemed like her normal self. Vex just glared.

"Fine. Just as long as _she_" she jabbed a finger in my direction, "doesn't go and tell the guard where our secret entrance is."

"Yes, because the first thing on my mind when I leave here is to betray you guys even though you are helping me out, especially since my best friend is your dang leader and also noting that _I may not live through tomorrow_!" I said quickly, my voice laced with sarcasm. Vex gave me a look that said _just try me and see where you get_. But before she could answer, the door opposite the room banged open and the red-haired Nord from the market place strode in, taking in the fact that there were only four of us in here.

"Uncle Brynjolf!" shouted Alyssa, and a look of disbelief flooded my face. _Uncle?!_

The Nord raised his hand in hello, shaking his head and laughing at the same time (yeah, Alyssa will do that to you). "Lass, do you always have to call me 'uncle' now. You're making me feel old."

Alyssa giggled. "Maybe that's because you are getting up in age."

"Yeah, or maybe you're just really young. You're only eighteen, lass." Said Brynjolf. It was then that he caught sight of me. "Well, well. I thought you didn't want to join up, lass?" he asked.

"She isn't. Del is helping her out as a personal favor for me." Said Alyssa simply.

Brynjolf nodded. "Ah. But you two still owe me those two bottles of Flamer Blood Elixir that you stole." Beside me, Shade yawned. The Nord looked down at my wolf with a smile on his face. "Don't think that you're getting off easy. You're the one who staged the distraction, shadow wolf."

I laughed. "And yet you fell for it. And by the way, three strikes, you're out."

Brynjolf's brow furrowed. "What does that mean, lass?"

"'One strike, you're not perfect; two strikes, you need to step up your game; three strikes, pack up and leave 'cause you're not worth the effort.' I stole three bottles, thus three strikes." I stated.

"What louse taught you that saying?" asked Alyssa.

"The one that you all killed." And with that, I spun on my heel and headed back for the ladder, leaving four very confused thieves in my wake.

* * *

The sun had started setting as I exited the Thieves Guild via the secret entrance. Once outside, I made my way over to the Bee and Barb and used some of the little gold I had for a room (I later counted and learned that I had grabbed nearly 300 septims from the guard; may not be much but it's more than my usual). The rest of the night I had hid in the shadows of the tavern and listened to the conversations of the occupants, a hobby that I had found both amusing and useful. Unfortunately after hours of listening in the only information I had gained was that the people of RIften had a lot to complain about, so I headed up to my room and managed to fall asleep quickly, only to have a rude awakening in the early hours of the next day.

"Wake up! Wake up!" came Alyssa's voice, followed by the sudden appearance of her weight on the bed. I gave a startled scream and immediately sat up and opened my eyes, curling my legs close to my body. Though they were not yet adjusted to the darkness, my eyes could still make out the Breton's petite figure jumping up and down on the end of my bed.

"Alyssa!" I shouted, but she continued to keep jumping; hard enough that the bed creaked and her head barely missed the ceiling.

"C'mon! Get up! Get up! I got a job for you!" she said in a singsong voice, now starting to draw nearer and nearer to me.

"Ugh," I groaned, laying my head against the headboard. "What is it now, Alyssa?"

"Ya gotta get up first! C'mon, up, up, little elf!"

I groaned. "Stop calling me little-Whoa!" I scrambled off the bed, using all of my speed and agility possible as Alyssa leapt toward me, landing where I had been seconds ago. I hit the floor with a thud as Alyssa looked down at me, the bed creaking as she continued to bounce on it.

"C'mon, hurry up! I want to get going!" said Alyssa, getting off and heading for the end of my bed. Once there, she picked up my clothes and threw them at me. "Meet you downstairs in five minutes. Don't be late!" And with that she promptly left, closing the door without another word.

I leaned against the bed and looked up toward the ceiling, sighing inwardly. _Just like College days…_ With that thought in my head, I quickly dressed and woke up Shade, who had been sleeping peacefully under the bed (she is _way_ too used to Alyssa). As we padded down the stairs, I saw a half a loaf of bread fly in my direction and quickly caught it before it hit my face.

"C'mon, you can eat on the way." Said Alyssa, who tossed Shade a large slice of beef before heading to the door.

"Alyssa, what exactly are we doing at such an hour?" I asked after we had exited the tavern.

"Simple. I need you to deal with a few people for me." Was her reply.

"Really. And why can't you deal with them?" I shot back as we neared the gates (Alyssa was walking abnormally fast).

The red-haired Breton let out a worn sigh. "Always have to have the details, don't you?" A nod was my only reply. Alyssa smiled. "Fine. I'll explain on the way."

After that, the rest of our journey consisted of Alyssa explaining the details of our little 'adventure'. After Alyssa had gotten done arguing with Vex of the problems of letting me enter the Guild's hideout (called the Cistern, apparently), she had gone to the Bee and Barb for a drink when she met a Breton man named Louis Letrush who was asking for anyone in need of work. Alyssa, who was such a generous citizen, offered to give Sibbi Black-Briar his message. Upon learning that Sibbi and Louis were in the middle of a deal involving a horse named Frost, Alyssa decided to help by stealing Frost and his linage papers from the Black-Briar Lodge, only to find the place heavily guarded by mercenaries. Being an illusionist, Alyssa turned tail and decided that her Destruction-based friend would be more than happy to lend a hand.

"So to be clear, the only reason that you dragged me out of bed at three in the morning was so I could kill some mercenaries while you steal a horse for some easy gold." With a simple nod from Alyssa, I said, "Uh-no. Not without getting a piece of this."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll split the reward with you." She said, bouncing on her heels as she went. I sighed to myself and walked on, letting my thoughts take me. Finally, though, curiosity won out.

"Hey Alyssa, how long have you been Guild Master?" I asked. Alyssa stopped and turned to face me. She thought a moment, and then grinned.

"A few hours about now." She said and continued walking. I quickly picked up my pace to walk alongside her.

"A few hours?! So, what, you were titled Guild Master five minutes before I ran into you?" I asked incredulously.

"It was more like ten, but basically yeah. Why? What's the matter?" she asked.

"It's just that… Well... The others… They don't really respect you as a leader." I managed to get out. I didn't really want to talk about this, but I felt like I needed to understand the whole thing. Even if I didn't really know the others that well (or even Alyssa anymore, for that matter), I still couldn't live not being able to figure it out.

Alyssa gave a short laugh. "Trust me, we all are still getting used to the whole thing."

"I know, but when Vex came in the first thing she did was jump you like _she_ was the leader, not you." I argued.

"Vex barks at everyone, no matter who they are. And if that's all you're worry about; don't worry. I can handle Vex and she'd never betray the Guild or anything."

"Yeah, but even Delvin doesn't really respect you." Alyssa gave me a quizzical look so I explained. "Yes, he's nice to you, but he's _too_ nice. Like you're on the same level of authority with him."

Alyssa threw back her head and laughed. When she could control herself, she said, "Mivryna, what do you expect them to do? Grovel at my feet or something?" Alyssa continued to laugh, having to hold her side and bend over because she was laughing so hard.

"'A leader must be respected and feared.'" I quoted quietly, my cheeks starting to hurt and turning a bright red, "And you're neither of those things."

Alyssa stopped laughing and turned to me, realizing that this was more than just me questioning her leadership skills.

"Who told you that?" Alyssa said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Linwe." I admitted quietly. "It was one of the many things he taught me when I joined the Summerset Shadows."

"I thought you hated them?" she said, her voice making the sentence a question.

"I do. But he drilled his lessons into me hard. They're not easy to forget."

"Well, not everything Linwe taught you was true. He may have believed that you have to rule with fear and respect, but you don't always have to." She paused a moment. "OK, well maybe he had the respect part right, but Vex and Delvin do respect me; they just don't like to show it. Vex, she's… She's just testing me; it's what she does. And Delvin's friendly with just about anyone he thinks is worth their salt, and I've definitely proven that. Besides, the Thieves Guild is totally different from the Shadows and that includes on how we lead." Alyssa looked down, watching her feet move one in front of the other. A sign of self-doubt. "At least I think I'm doing a good job."

I looked at her. "What do you mean you think you're not doing a good job? What've you done wrong?"

"For starters, I let you into the Cistern via the secret entrance. I'm supposed to lead you through the Ratway. It's kind of how we test people." She looked up at me. "But I didn't want to test you. You're my friend and even though you've changed a lot since I met you, you're still you and I know that you're strong enough to do anything you set your mind to. By the Divines, you managed to deal with your parent's murder, escape your assassins, not only in Cyrodiil, but also Skyrim for a year and a half, excel in both your trainings during your time with the College and in the Summerset Shadows, and trek all the way down here to Riften to find a way to get the revenge you deserved to have a _long_ time ago." Alyssa breathed deeply after she finished, her face flushed.

"Then why didn't you tell them that?" I asked.

Alyssa grinned. "Because you didn't trust them." I couldn't help but grin back.

"Well, no matter if you've made a mistake, I still think you have what it takes." I said, my voice having some confidence.

"What do you mean by that?" Alyssa asked and I quickly reflected back to the Cistern, of how Alyssa's eyes looked when she was barking for everyone to get to work.

"I dunno. I just know that you can do it." I said, managing to make my best friend grin.

Suddenly she stopped and crouched low to the ground, her body alert for danger. "The lodge is just up ahead. C'mon I want get the jump on them." She said and I followed her lead. Together we stealthily climbed the rest of the hill and sure to her word, the lodge wasn't very far. It was a two stories high Riften-styled building with a small stable to the side, the only animals being a few chickens and a large chestnut horse which I assumed was Frost.

Guarding the outside were two Nords in steel plate armor, with one wielding an iron warhammer and the other a greatsword. Neither had noticed our presence. Alyssa crept closer to me so she could whisper in my ear.

"They're all yours. You two ready?" she asked. I looked to Shade and the two of us nodded. I turned back to Alyssa.

"Ready."

**Figured I'd leave a small note down here (for one you'd only understand it after you read the chapter). For those of you who are confused, Brynjolf knew what a shadow wolf was beforehand. Now I'd best get off and get some sleep.**


	18. Chapter 18: Promises to Keep

**Well, I said I was going to have this chapter up the day after the last one and instead I'm uploading it now. The lateness of the chapter is mostly because for some reason my motivation went and died on Monday, I was busy Tuesday, and I barely managed to find it in me to finish it which also had the help of music and the annoying voice in my head telling me that I needed to do it. Length of the chapter is longer than usual but that's mostly because of the several mini conversations that take place (one reason why I hate the speaking parts) but the word count is the same. This chapter is technically a subplot so is not part of the Riften chapters (which I can say is the last of them) and so this chapter is allowed to have its full name displayed. Two final notes: the Stones of Barenziah that are found in here actually appear in the same locations in game so there is a little bit of help for those who have never been able to find them all. And finally, please review and enjoy the chapter!**

Carefully, I crept up the hill, staying to the side to avoid detection. The road up to the lodge was rather bare, so I had to rely on the shadows of the still-dark morning to stay hidden (guess that's why Alyssa was in such a hurry). I looked back to see what Shade had planned, but she had vanished.

From off the side, the young shadow wolf appeared out of nowhere and sprinted toward the nearest mercenary, a growl ripping from her throat and her teeth bared. Instinctively, I dualcasted a single Firebolt which shot out and rammed the one with the greatsword in the head. Shade swiftly took care of the other.

"Nice work." Said Alyssa as she ran up to the nearest guard and started searching through his gear. I headed over to Frost and started to undo the knot that tied his rope to the post.

"What are you doing?" came Alyssa's voice, which had materialized behind me.

"Getting Frost. That is the reason why we came here, wasn't it?" I said, turning to face her.

"Yeah, but we need to get his linage papers first, which are inside the house." She said and I groaned.

"Oh, quit your whining. It won't take that long." Alyssa said, heading back to the lodge.

"Well, I'm not one who's able to get up so early; you know that." I told her.

It was Alyssa's turn to groan. "Why do you always have to sleep so late? For once get up in the morning."

"Hey! You're the one who has to get up before the sun!" I shot back.

"Just because the sun's not up doesn't mean that it isn't morning." Alyssa pointed out.

"Yeah, but most normal people don't like to start their mornings with it looking like it's the middle of the night."

"Oh please, Mivryna. Since when was I normal." Said Alyssa, cocking her head to the side and grinning like a cat. She then turned on her heel and proceeded up the rest of the way toward the door, with me and Shade following closely behind. A quick turn of a key picked off the guard and the three of us stealthily crept inside.

The inside of the Black-Briar Lodge was like any Riften building, with the walls and floor made out of dirty-looking old wood, but was much larger and more furnished, with the first floor including a large dining area, a bedroom, and more hallways than I would care to count. Together, we searched the first floor, taking what loot we wanted and killing any mercenaries that got in our way.

After the first floor was successfully pillaged, Alyssa decided to split up to look for Frost's papers; she took the bottom, Shade and I took the top. We carefully made our way up to the second floor, looking out for guards and possible loot. Looking around, we found a few storage areas that held not much more than food, and only one guard patrolled the area (which with one well-placed sneak attack from Shade was taken care of). I was about to think that Alyssa had probably gotten the better deal when I stumbled upon the master bedroom of the house. In it were mostly wardrobes and drawers filled with clothes (which, although quite expensive for the average citizen, didn't fetch a very good price for a traveler) and I was just about to head out when Shade barked, signaling that she had found something.

And it was something. On the nightstand furthest from the wall, Shade had found a small golden case, though simply decorated, gave notice that something much more valuable must be held inside. I crept back over to where the young wolf was and took the case into my hands. Peeping the lid open, I watched as the light in the room reflected back at me at angles. _Looks like some sort of well-cut gem._

I opened the case the rest of the way and discovered that it _was_ a gem. A pink gem that was about as big as my hand and, not only let off its own light, but actually floated, thought it seemed to be restrained to the borders of its golden enclosure. _What an unusual gem…_

"What's that you got there?" came a voice behind me. I spun around, dropping the gem as I did so. With a dagger in my right and fire in the other, I turned to face my attacker, only to find that it was merely Alyssa.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Gods, Alyssa. Don't sneak up on me like that." I said, holding my hand to my chest.

Alyssa laughed. "For someone who's supposed to be on the run, you sure are easy to sneak up on." I prepared a retort to that but my friend's eyes caught sight of the gem. "Oooh!" Immediately she dived for it and managed to snatch it away before I could pick it up.

"Hey! I found it first!" I said, annoyed that Alyssa had been the one to find all the good loot in the lodge. I reached for it but Alyssa guarded it closely.

"You don't need it! Besides, you probably don't even know what it is." She argued. Again I tried to grab it and again Alyssa pulled it away.

Seeing that force wouldn't work, I decided to try the art of persuasion. "Fine. What exactly _is_ it, anyway?"

Alyssa grinned, her cat-like smile making her look a little creepy. "It's called a Stone of Barenziah. A long time ago, a thief pulled all 24 stones off her crown in order to cover his tracks. If I can find all 24 gems, then I can use them to restore the crown and gain back the Guild's paragon. Either way, only the Thieves Guild really has any use for them." Her smile was now a little annoying.

I sighed inwardly. _No use in fighting logic like that. Oh well, I still have some gold left._ "Fine. You keep it. Not like you gave me much of a choice anyway."

"Yay!" Alyssa cried and I just shook my head at her. "Hey, I hope you guys are done because I found Frost's papers so all we have to do is take him to Letrush." And without waiting for a response, Alyssa snuck out of the room, as apparently it was possible that the guards had gotten over whatever magic she had put them in (that's the problem I always had with Illusion; it only solves the problem of enemies temporarily).

The three of us quietly made our way back down to the ground floor and slipped out the front door. Once outside, we decided that we no longer needed to use stealth and causally made our way over to Frost, who looked up at us with curiosity. Upon nearing him, I reached up and petted his head while Alyssa undid the rope tying him to the stables and, after saddling him, we galloped off to Letrush's meeting place, gliding over the rough terrain with ease and with Shade following closely behind.

It didn't take us long to find Letrush, who had told Alyssa to meet him just west of Lost Prospect Mine. He sat worriedly on a large slab of grey stone, but after sighting us, his face light up like the night sky.

"Ha! You've done it! Got to admit, I wasn't sure you could pull it off. But you've definitely earned your pay. Let's make the exchange." He said as we drew near, ignoring the fact that Alyssa's party included two others.

"Yeah, about that…" Alyssa said, causing my stomach to turn. _Alyssaaa. What are you up to?_ I thought warningly. Letrush seemed to show the same concern.

"Wh-what? What's the matter?" he asked nervously.

Alyssa's face suddenly became hard. "I'm going to Maven unless I leave here with Frost." She said emotionlessly.

Letrush just laughed. "And telling her what? That you stole her horse? I don't think so." With that Letrush motioned for us to get off of Frost and Alyssa did slide off, but only to block his way.

"I'm getting Frost." She said, her voice leaving no room for argument. _Just give him the dang horse, Alyssa! You're never one for fights anyway._ But as that thought floated through my mind, Alyssa's hand gave slight wave toward the Breton man, her hand filled with red light from a spell. As it surrounded him, his face became nervous, like a scared little rabbit. Alyssa then drew her stalhrim dagger and pointed it at Letrush's neck.

"Leave or I'll slit your throat." Alyssa's voice was cold, as if she was an assassin instead of a thief. Immediately Letrush's face turned to that of pure horror.

"Y-yes, ma'am." He said, quavering. Alyssa made a motion for him to leave and he quickly turned and ran, screaming and tripping over every rock and broken tree limb. Once he was gone, Alyssa turned to me, beaming.

"Well, that worked out just like I planned it." She said.

"Wait, when were you going to tell me you were going to double-cross Letrush?" I asked.

Alyssa shrugged. "I actually wasn't going to until we got here." She said and looked up at Frost with a smile. "I've actually always wanted a horse. Cuts the costs of carriages."

"Then why didn't you just buy one at the stables?" I asked her.

Alyssa gave a small laugh. "I did. But a bear killed it thirty minutes after I bought it." She gave me one of her cat smiles. "Guess he wasn't fast enough." I just sighed and shook my head. _I'll never be able to understand her. Guess that's I like having her as a friend. _Suddenly, another thought came to mind.

"Hey, if you get Frost, they what about my share?" I asked, feeling cheated. From the look on Alyssa's face, I could tell that she hadn't thought of that (typical thief).

The young Breton quickly reached into her pocket and produced a large coin purse, which she tossed to me. "Here. I managed to bribe Sibbi into giving me his key to the stash at the lodge. There's about 250 septims in there." I easily caught the gold and from the weight of it I could tell that she was about right.

"So, I get 250 septims and you get a really good horse." I said, cocking my head to the side.

Alyssa threw her arms into the air. "What else do you want? That's all there is. I tell you what, you can borrow Frost anytime I'm not using him, OK?"

I sighed. _Better to take a lousy deal than no deal at all._ "Fine. Just take us back to Riften." I said, wanting to stop at the Bee and Barb and get a real meal instead of the bread I had on the way. I looked up and noticed that the sky was fully lighted. _Too late for breakfast. Maybe I can get a lunch._

After Alyssa got back on, she kicked Frost in hard in the sides and soon we were sprinting through the woods, heading back to road to Riften. As we rode along, a sudden memory hit me and I started digging around in my knapsack. Alyssa noticed and looked back. "What are you looking for?" she asked, raising her voice so I could hear.

I eventually managed to find it in the deepest parts of my bag. "This," I said as I pulled out a Stone of Barenziah.

Alyssa's face lit up first in shock, then annoyed anger. "You had that with you the whole time and didn't tell me?!" she yelled at me. "Oh, you are so dead!"

"Hey, I didn't even remember I had it until just now!" I defended.

That seemed to quell her anger at me. At least a little. "Where'd you find it?" she asked.

"In the catacombs in Whiterun's Hall of the Dead." I answered.

"Why on Nirn were you in there?" came Alyssa's question.

I grinned solemnly. "Linwe always made the juniors go grave-robbing." Alyssa laughed at that.

We rode on for a little bit more in silence. Then, "Hey, Alyssa, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Is Brynjolf really your uncle?"

You know, sometimes Alyssa's cat smiles are really annoying. This was one of those times.

* * *

_Rowena Indaren_

"So how is this one?" asked Rowena, her silvery eyes meeting her Sister Babette's blood red ones. The little vampire grinned, revealing the trademark of her kind: two long, sharp, dagger-like teeth that replaced her incisors. Though she once was unnerved by Babette's fangs, Rowena now just returned her sister's smiles. Studying her, Rowena could easily see how most people would be fooled by her appearance. As usual, Babette had let her brown hair down, where it ended at her shoulders and wore her favorite red dress with a brown belt around her waist. The only things that even possibly hinted at her condition were her pale skin and her eyes, which were nearly the same color as fresh blood. Luckily, it was always too dark for most people to able to see the differences and those that did always ended up dead.

Babette picked up the small glass vial which Rowena had indicated, looking at the pale red liquid within. "Hmm." She said, uncorking the vial and sniffing its contents. "It's pretty good actually. Your best potion yet."

Rowena groaned. "It was supposed to be a poison." She said, and then more to herself, "I knew something was wrong when I mixed the mountain flower in. Damn it!"

"Relax, Rowena. It may not be much use on a bow, but I can easily slip it into someone's stew." Said Babette. "And don't beat yourself up over it. You've been stressing yourself out too much. By Sithis, I pity you during this time of the month."

Rowena attempted a grin, but it quickly faltered. "Don't pity me. It's not worth the effort." But she knew that Babette would. In fact, everyone in the Sanctuary did around this time. It was never easy for her Family to see her suffer with her gift. _Some gift._

Unconsciously, Rowena exited the small room that served as both the alchemy lab and the enchanting room without even another word to her sister. She passed Gabriella on the stairwell, not even caring to notice the worried look on the fellow Dunmer's face; neither did she notice that Nazir and Veezara had stopped talking as she entered the kitchen. Instead, Rowena preceded up the stairs where the bedrooms lay, heading to her own bed and sitting down, as her thoughts and memories overwhelmed her.

It had been several long years since Rowena had been bitten by a feral werewolf and for several long years the young Dunmer was subject to change into one once a month when the full moon rose high in the sky. And this month was no different. The full moon was only a single day away, and though she had already brewed a potion that allowed her to maintain her mind during the transformation, Rowena stilled dreaded its coming. The Dunmer assassin could already feel the beast stirring within her, ready to awaken from its month long sleep and take control. Even now as she sat she could feel its need to run, to chase, to hunt, to kill, almost as if the desires were her own. _But they're not. I have to keep it together. I can't let it win, or else I'll become like the poor fool who gave me this curse!_ The memories of the attack floated through her mind and Rowena didn't notice she was touching her right shoulder, where the horrendous scar lay, until her thoughts were interrupted.

"Rowena." Though she already knew its owner, Rowena still looked up to see Veezara standing in front of her, mostly because the Argonian's voice seemed quite worried. _If Veezara sounds worried then something must really be wrong._

"What is it?" she asked, as always her voice carried a musical note to it.

"It's Arnbjorn. He just got back from his 'assignment'." Said her Argonian Brother.

"What about him?" she asked, but only to confirm her suspicions.

"He's been hurt. Badly." Rowena nodded and quickly followed him towards the front of the Sanctuary. As the two entered the main area, Rowena quickly noticed that everybody was already there, save for Astrid who was out collecting contracts. A shirtless Arnbjorn sat next to the pool while Babette was attempting to clean his wounds with a damp linen cloth. Rowena quickly headed down the stairs and sat beside her sister, who only gave her a quick glance.

"They're not too bad, at least not for a large wolf like him. Mostly they're on his back, though he's been burnt a bit along his front." Said Babette, her voice calm. Rowena nodded and gently took the cloth from the little Breton vampire, who stepped back to allow Rowena some space.

Getting into position, Rowena carefully finished cleaning out the wounds with one hand while preparing a spell in the other. Looking over them, Rowena realized that the injuries weren't as bad as they appeared. Most of Arnbjorn's wounds consisted of small bite and claw marks along his shoulders and face, with the only real serious wounds being a deep bite on the nape of his neck and a puncture mark from a dagger on his right shoulder. Like Babette said, there were burns all along his front and even on his sides that seemed to be made from fire, yet were about as bad as sunburns. _He must have been in werewolf form. It's the only reason these wounds aren't as bad as they should be._

Once she was ready, Rowena hovered her hand over the wounds; her mind completely focused on the spells of healing that she cast over them. The wounds healed quickly and soon Arnbjorn's skin looked as good as new, as if he had never been wounded. With her work done, Rowena stood, checking for anything she missed, but found nothing.

"Arnbjorn?! What's going on?" Rowena, along with everyone else, turned to find Astrid standing in the doorway, a look of concern on the leader's face. Upon seeing Arnbjorn sitting on the ground, Astrid quickly ran to his side, only to be puzzled by the lack of injuries. The sight of Rowena quickly erased it, however. Astrid nodded her thanks, to which the Dunmer responded in kind. Then she turned her attention to her husband, who was quickly putting his shirt back on and attempting to stand back up.

"Arnbjorn, what happened?" asked Astrid once the werewolf in question was fully standing.

"I was following that girl like you wanted me to. Followed her all the way from Whiterun till close to Riften which was when I lost her. I used the wolf's sense of smell to find the trail and before I knew it, the little tidbit was right in front me. Would've managed to get away without showing myself if that damn wolf of hers hadn't gone and warned her." Said Arnbjorn grudgingly.

"You didn't kill her, did you?" Astrid asked, her voice only a showing a small bit of alarm.

"No, the wolf started to get to me, but not before those two little morsels managed to show that they can fight. Either way, she's probably still near Riften if you're going after her." said Arnbjorn, who didn't hide the fact that he was tired of the subject.

"Yes, I know; I saw the child there when discussing a contract with a client." Said Astrid.

Need me to go back after her?" asked Arnbjorn, though everybody present could tell that the Nord werewolf would rather tear off the head of a deer than chase back down a child and her wolf.

"No. Just get some rest. I'll figure something else out." Said Astrid, and with that, she turned and headed back up the stairs in which she came from. With an intentionally loud cough from Nazir, the Family quickly went about to their normal activities. Rowena, however, followed Astrid up the stairs and into the map room.

Astrid immediately looked up as Rowena approached the table. "Need something, Rowena?" she asked.

"Astrid, what exactly were Arnbjorn's instructions?" asked Rowena politely.

Astrid raised an eyebrow at the Dunmer, but didn't ask. "He was to shadow the child in hopes of witnessing another attack from those _assassins," _she spoke the word with obvious distaste, "and discern what exactly has them so interested in her. That was all. Why are you asking?"

Rowena sighed inwardly. "I'm just curious to as why you think they pose a threat. I mean, the most trouble any of them has ever posed to the Brotherhood is by killing a foolish newcomer, and even then he had it coming." Rowena leaned on the table, meeting her superior at eye level. "I'm just a little worried that you're putting resources into something that we could ignore. After all, the child could simply be one of their marks and nothing more."

Astrid gave her Dunmer Sister a wanful smile. "It is true that that is a possibility, but I've heard rumors. And they come from normally reliable sources. And those same sources state that they've had interest in this girl for years." Astrid shook her head in frustration. "They couldn't possibly have such resources to devote themselves to this. No, I know better. This girl, there's something to her, something that they need from her. And even worse, they're growing in numbers. Recruiting." Astrid picked up a dagger and stabbed it just west of Whiterun. "We need to stop them from growing stronger, before they become a true threat to the Brotherhood. This girl, she knows something. And one way or another, I'm going to find out what."

**For those who have any questions at all concerning the story in any way, don't be afraid to PM me, especially if you are lost on anything. Also, I'd be happy to hear any requests or suggestions for miniature quests for future subplots, as that is what I've really been having trouble on in terms of future chapters. All I really have to say so signing off now.**


	19. Chapter 19: The Darkness of the Night

**And here I am with my next chapter! I was actually going to put an important part in this but the beginning turned out too long, so it's basically here to just add to suspense and give a sense of foreboding, so it's kind of creepy (don't say I didn't warn you). Would have had it up sooner but I kept wanting to read other stories and motivation seemed to be in everything other than this. Oh well, it's up now so I hope you guys like it. Nothing more to say other than enjoy and please review.**

_Fire appeared in my vision all throughout the nightmare as I watched people scream and run from the merciless flames, smoke blocking out the stars and moons, making the lightened evening turn to the dead of night. People called for help, but no one would come, and water only made the flames blaze into an inferno. Suddenly I was in my house, with everything how it was when I last saw it: drawers and cupboards open and tables overturned, with all items of the house strewn to the far walls; ransacked. Except now the ceiling was pure red with blood, as if suffering a terrible wound, and the walls dripped with the red liquid as the fire engulfed it. Mother and Father lay on the floor, both with their respective fatal wounds. Mother's eyes seemed distant and hollow, as if she wasn't there anymore._

_ "Run," she said, her voice now just a raspy whisper of its former self. Suddenly, the fireplace roared to life and usually warm flames leapt forth and formed the figure of what seemed to be a man, yet this man had wings that stretched out about his height and long, sharp talons that replaced his fingernails. Though an aspect of the fire, I could clearly see the malice and rage that contorted his face. The creature (as it was no man) gave an unearthly roar and, with a single flap of his wings, shot toward me, hands outstretched as the world turned black…_

Immediately I sat up straight in my bed in the Bee and Barb, breathing hard and drenched in sweat as my heart pounded against my chest, feeling like it was about to break my ribcage. My hand went over my heart as I tried to slow my breathing as I looked around the room, but only the still darkness pervaded.

I moaned and carefully curled myself into a ball and buried my head into my knees while my body shook, my fear slowly leaving my body and being replaced with the misery that the dreams had brought with it. Ever since the death of my parents, I had been assaulted with dreams ranging from simple remembrances of the event to surreal versions of it complete taunting masked assassins, vengeful ghosts, and yes, even a spiritual entity of some sort, though usually not as terrifying as the last one. _A speaking of that, what _was_ that thing? It definitely wasn't man or mer, or even one of the beast races for that matter. It was some sort of monster, yet it was obviously intelligent. But I've never seen anything like it…_ My thoughts were interrupted as a wet nose edged its way past my arm, an all too familiar whine accompanying it. I lifted my head to see Shade staring at me, her ears flat against her head and her eyes showing such worry that they made me want to cry.

"Shade…" I said, my voice sounding hoarse and weak. _Had I been screaming when I was asleep? If I was, then why didn't anyone come to my room? You're probably just being paranoid, Mivryna. And yet, you've been wrong before. So very wrong…_ "go back to sleep, girl. It was just a dream." _Just a dream…_ Shade whined but obeyed and laid herself beside me, with her body between me and the door. I rested my head against the headboard and watched as Shade's breathing slowed, until finally the young wolf fell asleep. I tried to do the same, but the dream kept me from wanting to close my eyes. Finally, I slipped out of bed, quickly dressed, and exited the inn and into the chilling night.

Outside, I breathed in deep and slowly exhaled, my warm breathe becoming visible in the cold night. _So much for the warm weather, if you can call it that. Nice while it lasted, though._ I stood just in front of the Bee and Barb, leaning on the rail. I looked out into the night, with both my ears and eyes open, taking in its stillness. After being out here for about an hour, I finally calmed down enough to where I could recall the memory without also bringing back the fear that had come with it. I looked down into the canal, watching the seemingly black water lap against the docks, waiting for a chance to move, but no ships ever entered anymore.

I closed my eyes, listening to the sounds that surrounded me, giving me a sense of what was out at this time, though mostly all I heard was the sound of the guard's loud footsteps against the wood and stone (it amazes me now how some people can be so noisy). I was about to make myself go back in and try and get some sleep when I heard something out of place. _Footsteps. And not a guard's. In fact, they're sneaking; I can tell from how they're moving, slow and cautious. Too bad that these old, rotting boardwalks are so darn creaky._ I listened further in belief that it was merely a thief who was attempting to rob the market place (from what I hear, it happens a lot), but soon it became apparent that the person was slowly approaching _me_. _If it's some pickpocket, then they're going to wish they had just tried they're luck with robbing the market place._

I waited until the person came closer but when they were almost to me, the footsteps stopped. I resisted the urge to turn around and burn them where they stood. _No, I need them to actually try and commit a crime before I can strike without worry of the guards._ I waited, but the night seemed as still as it was before. _Did they leave? No, they couldn't have. Not without me hearing them; if they made noise when they were coming to me then they should have made noise when they were leaving. They have to still be there._

I opened my eyes and pushed myself away from the rail, as if about to leave. My ruse worked, but not in the way I had hoped. Instead of expecting the sounds of footsteps pounding lightly against the wood, I heard the sound of a blade being quickly unsheathed. I spun around and barely managed to dodge the Elven dagger that came my way. I ducked and rolled to my right, coming up with Flames ready to consume the s'wit. But when I turned to face my attacker, my stomach flipped over at the sight of him. _How do these people keep finding me!?_ With the horror still strong in my stomach, I switched from fire to frost and sent a cascade of Frostbite toward the anonymous assassin. The Dunmer skillfully put up a ward to deflect the spell, forcing me to end mine to conserve my magicka.

Knowing that magic would be the poorer choice in this battle, I reached to draw my own dagger, but my opponent was too fast. With his right hand that still held his dagger, he flung the weapon and it easily hit home, embedding itself in my right shoulder. Acute pain shot through me, forcing a scream from my throat and freezing me in place as I reached up to pull the blade out. Through the pain, I could feel my reserves dropping and realized that the s'wit had enchanted his blade to severely damage my magicka. _Which is perfect against someone like me…_

In my moment of weakness, the Dunmer used his opportunity to ram into me, causing me to land on the stone street with him on top of me, thus pinning me to the ground. I struggled from underneath him, but quickly found it futile. My attacker loomed over me, blocking out the moons and stars, and my breath came to a halt in my throat, ending any future attempt to scream. Suddenly, he tensed, as something was off, and then abruptly pushed himself off of me, stepping back as he watched me with what seemed like horror. Not having a clue what was going on, I summoned frost magic to my hands and was about to shoot when the assassin let out a girlish scream and bolted for the front gates, all the way begging for mercy. I sat up, wondering what in all of Nirn could turn that elf into such a sniveling coward.

"Well, it's a good thing that I decided to go for a walk, eh Mivryna?" came the all too familiar voice behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Alyssa coming out of the shadows, red Illusion magic spilling from her hands. With a fleeting reminder of the encounter with Letrush, the pieces quickly fell into place, strangely causing me to laugh. Alyssa looked at me as she extended her hand, which I gratefully took.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

I smiled. "Just the fact that I can always trust you to _somehow_ be there with a trick up your sleeve, no matter the circumstances." I said, prompting my red-haired Breton friend to laugh. Once she pulled me up, though, her expression turned serious.

"You alright? That dagger…" she said, for once her energetic voice turning solemn. I took one look at it and quickly pulled the blade from my shoulder, ignoring the pain that protested against me. Alyssa winced, but took the blade when I handed it to her, though with a puzzled look.

"You keep it. Sell it, try to get a clue off it; I don't care. I don't want it." I said. Alyssa just shrugged and tied it to her hip. Suddenly, I heard a familiar bark, and was quickly assaulted as I turn to face its owner, who licked my face much to my disapproval.

"Shade! Get off, girl!" I said as I raised my hands to defend myself as Alyssa laughed. Eventually I managed to get my wolf off of me (no thanks to Alyssa) and soon stood and faced my friend, who had managed to stop laughing and was now grinning slyly.

"So, where to now?" she asked, breathing hard.

"Probably back to our room. Unless you have other ideas." I said, this morning's adventure still fresh in my mind. Alyssa just grinned at the memory.

"Really. And what kind of person makes their friend sleep at an inn. Come on, you're heading over to my place." She said, grabbing my arm and quickly pulling me down the street.

"You have a house in Riften?" I asked incredulously.

Alyssa grinned. "Yep. It's not far either." And she was right. After basically just crossing the nearest bridge, I stood in front of what looked like any other building here in Riften, but after being quickly rushed inside (patience is not one of Alyssa's virtues) I quickly found the house rather comforting. Right inside the door was a fully stocked kitchen, complete with a fireplace with a cooking spit. To my right I could see a doorway with a double bed against the far wall and a weapon plague over it.

"C'mon," said Alyssa, who still had a good grip on my arm, "I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Alyssa quickly dragged me through the kitchen and towards where the bedroom lay.

"Why hello, my Thane. It's good to see you again." Said a Nord woman in steel armor with reddish-brown hair, as well as a steel war axe strapped to her side. She stood and immediately bowed to Alyssa. _Thane?! Really, Alyssa? You better have a pretty darn good story in that possibly deranged head of yours._

"Hello again, Iona. And I've told you; you don't have to do the whole 'my Thane' proper thing. Just call me Alyssa and leave it at that." Said Alyssa, who had her hands on her hips. Iona stood up from her bow, conflicting emotions clouding her face.

"Of course, my Thane." Said Iona, who only realized her mistake _after_ Alyssa gave her a look. "Sorry, my Thane." Said Iona, bowing. Catching herself again, the Nord just gave up and heading into the kitchen. Alyssa just sighed and turned to me.

"What am I going to do with her?" she asked, as if I would know. _Honestly, I don't see how it bothers you so much; a least there's someone around who'll speak to you properly._ I thought enviously. _Most people I meet just like to push me around._

Not waiting for an answer, Alyssa grabbed my arm and heading to the right of the doorway, where the floor opened up and a ladder led down to the basement. After descending down the stairs, Alyssa turned me past them and through double wooden doors. The room inside held two beds and chests, and several other decorations normal of bedrooms. Once through the doorway, Shade ran to the furthest bed and jumped on to it, grinning over at me with her toothy-wolf grin, her tongue lolling out of her mouth; I just shook my head at her.

"This was supposed to be a children's room, but I figured it was just as good for guests as well. Sure beats the enchanting area that was taking up space before." Said Alyssa nonchalantly, as if that last sentence did not faze me at all. _You had an enchanting area?! And you got rid of it?!_ Suddenly I had the urge to strangle the Breton beside me. But that desire was soon overridden by a something else.

"That woman upstairs. She called you 'my Thane.' You're a Thane?" I asked, turning to her. Alyssa just shrugged her shoulders.

"So?" she said, prompting me to want to slap her.

"So? How in the world did that happen?" I asked, incredulous.

` "Just kind of did. Not much to it, though, just a house, a housecarl, a really big sword, and a pretty title. Though I once was able to get out of getting arrested once, other than that, not really anything special." She said.

"Yes, because you like all your things stolen." I shot at her sarcastically. Alyssa just giggled. I walked into the room and sat down beside Shade, who scooted over to make room. After settling down and kicking off my boots, I looked up at my friend who was studying her nails in the doorway, who glanced over with a catlike grin. I groaned. "Thane of The Rift, leader of the Thieves Guild, what next? You've met the Dragonborn?" I asked.

"Oh, don't be silly." She said, but I could feel that there was more to it. _Perfect._ Alyssa turned and headed out the door with a "Night, little elf," over her shoulder. I clenched my teeth as I walked over and closed the door. _I am not little! I am five foot ten! I have bloody Altmer in me!_ I thought, wanting to run upstairs and yell that right in Alyssa's face. _I thought we had that argument back during our time in the College. Guess it didn't get through (though that's not surprising)._

I laid down on the bed, ready to close my eyes and hopefully be able to wake up on my own. I finished undressing and quickly turned on my side, falling asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.

_I stood on the ruined walkway of fort that overlooked what appeared to be a burned up desert, though with much more foliage than what would actually be in such a barren wasteland. In fact, life seemed to prosper, though how I could not understand. Either way, the only thing that seemed even vaguely familiar was the fort itself, being crafted out of what seemed to be Imperial stone, which only told me that the Empire built it. _And it isn't like they're big on only building in Cyrodiil._ I thought annoyingly. For one thing, I could be anywhere in Tamriel, though I could feel that I wasn't in Skyrim. _Perfect.

_ A man stood just in front of me, looking out into the wilderness. A jolt went through my stomach when I realized that he wore the same bone-and-leather-like armor that my assassins wore. _Crap,_ I thought. _Am I in one of their hideouts or something?_ Despite the advantage it would give me, I really would prefer finding this out during my _waking_ hours. Other than the armor, the dream prevented me from seeing the rest of him, as his face was shadowed and blurred, despite the fact that I was looking straight at him and it was fully daylight. Unfortunately, the dream got worse, as the man jumped as if he had heard something and the moment he turned around, his eyes instantly locked on me, his face turning into a smile so cruel it made my legs weak and my blood stop. He looked like a bloodthirsty animal that had just found the perfect prey._

_ "Well, it seems that my experimenting has finally paid off. I finally get to meet you face to face." He said slowly, his voice cold. He walked toward me, every step deliberately slow. I tried to run, but found that my feet were rooted to the spot. I looked down only to find that my legs (and by extension, my whole body) where a dark shadowy purple and completely transparent like a ghost's. I moved my legs again, only to find that some invisible force was keeping them pinned to the ground, yet I felt nothing that could tell what was keeping me down._ Magic.

_ The man chuckled and I looked up to find him mere inches from my face. My breath caught in my throat as he spoke, his own breath chilling. "You honestly thought that you could do what you wanted? It was me who brought you here and it is me who has control over you. You cannot do anything here without my permission. Besides, it would be quite dangerous to let your spirit to wonder the countryside, lest it get lost and never be able to return to your body." At what I guessed was a puzzled look from me, the man laughed, his voice vibrating through me, a feeling that I didn't really appreciate. "You don't get it, do you? This is all real. While your body lies sleeping somewhere within Skyrim's frozen borders, your spirit is here, with me, at my complete mercy." The man took his hand and reached across the distance between our bodies, stopping barely a hairline away from where my heart lay. A low cruel laugh escaped his lips, in which a moment after his hand drove itself into me. _

_ Unlike in real life, in where my body would be present at this time, his hand passed through me like I was made of air, but immediately the (lack of) heat in his hand radiated through me, a deathly cold that spread throughout my limbs and forced a pained gasp from my lungs. The man laughed as he turned his hand and made a fist, as if he could grab my heart and yank it from my chest. The chill intensified into a painfully bitter blizzard that swelled through me, seemingly binding my body to its current position and nearly forcing an agonizing scream from me, though I managed to barely contain it in my throat. The man's laugh was now bordering on terrifyingly insane._

_ "Well, it looks like you might actually put a fight. Lovely. You know, I wonder if my brothers have found you by now. The humor of it, for your spirit to leave me here and awaken in the comfort of your body, only to find yourself helpless at the hands of the ones who you have been trying so desperately to escape from." His smile sent shivers down my spine and I quickly tried to push the shared thought away but failed. "But I should not keep you. Time moves faster for you, so I'm afraid that our meeting must come to a close. Perhaps I can arrange another one for a time when I'm not so busy." He said this in a murmur, as if talking to himself rather than to me. Suddenly my eyes were fixed to his hands, in which he held a small light blue crystal. _It looks like that giant one from one of my old dreams..._ I thought, but was quickly broken off when he gave the gem a tight squeeze and I watched as it radiated magicka in the form of rays of light. The light blinded me for a moment, and when I regained my vision, searing pain ran through my body, forcing me to my knees as I let out a blood-curling scream. I looked up at the man, who smiled down at me, thoroughly enjoying my pain. My eyes were directed to his face, as something strange about them was coming into view, but before I could tell what it was, I blacked out._

I woke up with a gasp and quickly sat up in bed. Shade jumped from where she lay beside me and gave me curious look, which I gave a crooked smile at to ease. It worked in a way; Shade seemed to shrug and put her head back down to sleep, but the tension in her body suggested that she would have prodded me for answers if it wasn't so late.

I breathed slowly, forcing myself to calm down, which was easier than it had been the first time this night. I laid my head back down on the pillows, wondering what had woken me up. _Was I dreaming? And if so, then what about? I-I can't remember. Not one thing. Well, I guess that's good. Nothing to scare me into staying awake the rest of the night._

I glanced over at Shade, who had gone back to sleep. I turned back onto my side and draped my arm around her, pulling myself close. The young wolf felt warm and soft, her breathing making a rhythm that proved easy to fall asleep to.

* * *

_Astrid_

The Dunmer barely had time to scream as Astrid's merciless blade slid across his neck, ending the elf's life. The leader of the Dark Brotherhood released her hold on the enemy assassin's armor, letting him drop to the floor with a thud. Working quickly, Astrid grabbed the body by its shoulders and dragged it into the shadows of the nearest alleyway; a pathetic place to hide a body but she only needed to move it out of the way; besides, when the guards found it, she would be long gone any way.

Astrid sneaked along the side of the building and peered just past the corner to see what was going on across the bridge. The young elf that was her target was talking to the Breton she was with earlier. Astrid watched as the Breton pulled the Altmer past the bridge at the far end and disappear down an side street. Once they were out of her sight, the Nord assassin rested her head against the wood building, cursing her luck under her breath.

After her husband had come back, Astrid's curiosity got the best of her and she took her horse Shadowmere and raced back to Riften in hopes of questioning the girl, but was stopped when she saw one of the assassins race down the street screaming his head off. She had immediately grabbed the elf and pressed him against the wall and questioned him at knife point. But she soon realized that the bumbling fool knew nothing (that is, when he even made sense) and quickly ended him.

_But now I'm back to square one. Worse even, now that I know that the girl is friends with a higher operative of the Thieves Guild._ Astrid thought bitterly. _Things always get complicated when it involve them. I'll have to wait until she leaves Riften. Only once she's well out of range of them can I get to her without making things messy. For now, I'll just have to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't get herself killed. Or caught._ With that said and done, Astrid crept back out the gates, mounted her large black horse, and rode off back to the Sanctuary, the night being all the cover she needed.


	20. Chapter 20: Tending the Flames

**And with this installment I have successfully reached 20 chapters (not really much to brag about but its been a long 20 for me). Didn't really know what to call this one so I mostly just stuck with naming it after the quest that partially deals with it. As always, direct dialogue is used but it is tweaked in this chapter to fit the situation like in _No One Escapes Cidhna Mine_. Mostly this is just the fluff that exists before the really good part comes in, but in my defense, every good story has that. Not much else to say other than I hope for you guys to be ready for my next chapter. That, and, please review. Love to hear what you guys have to say (I don't mind constructive criticism, just as long as you're polite; trust me, it's possible). And with that note, I'm signing off.**

I let out a gasp as a sudden chill swept over my body.

"Up! Up! C'mon, for once I let you sleep late!" came Alyssa's voice. I opened my eyes to find her standing next to me, all the furs from the bed in her hands. As usual, her hair was already pinned up in its high ponytail and braids, but unlike the other times I've seen her, she wore a simple belted tunic and shoes, though her necklace still hung from her neck and her stalhrim dagger tied at her belt. In reality, it was rather disturbing seeing her like that; she rarely ever wore clothes, not even her mage robes when we were at the College.

"Dang it, Alyssa, did you have to do that? It's just as cold down here as it is outside." I complained. Beside me, Shade lifted her head and yawned loudly, looking up at me with sleep-filled eyes.

Alyssa laughed. "Ah, how cute!" she said as she saw us huddled together, her smile creepy. Shade gave her a look before promptly jumping off the bed and walking out of the room, her movements a little sluggish. I just shook my head as Alyssa turned to me, her cat smile still on her face.

"Oh, c'mon! You try sleeping down here for once." I argued. Alyssa just giggled and threw the furs back to me.

"Just hurry up and get dressed. C'mon, we're having breakfast at the inn, and I want to actually be able to get a seat. Besides, it'll give me time to tell you about my surprise." Said Alyssa as she left the room. I groaned. _Do I really want to know what's going through that Breton's head? Probably not._ And with that cheerful thought in my head, I pushed myself off the bed and got dressed; taking only a moment to realize that my knapsack was by the foot of my bed. _Alyssa must have brought it over from the inn._ I thought, cursing myself on the inside for making the foolish mistake of leaving it there last night.

Upstairs, I found Alyssa waiting for me; her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned by the door. I looked around, but found no sign of Shade. Alyssa seemed to catch this.

"Shade just left. Where exactly she's going, I have no idea. She didn't tell me." She said jokingly. I just gave a small snort.

"Probably out hunting. Shade's the type of girl who likes to work for things, including food." I said, feeling like I've said that sentence a hundred times over.

Alyssa smiled. "Well, isn't she ambitious? But then again, so are you, Mivryna." As my only response was to shake my head at her, Alyssa continued, "So, let's get going. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. C'mon, let's go eat." And with that, she grabbed my arm and tugged me out the door as I buried what would be a futile complaint.

* * *

"OK, so what's the big surprise?" I asked when I was nearly finished with my meal: a pheasant roast, goat cheese wedge, and a jug of milk (I will seriously burn _anyone_ who makes note of that last food item).

"OK, so I was talking to Delvin about where the Guild could find some good gold…" She paused to make sure she had my attention. I motioned for her to go on as I used the last drops of milk to wash down the pheasant. "And I learned that there might be something worthwhile at this year's Burning of King Olaf Festival. And I figured that you should come along." She paused for breath, waiting for my answer.

I looked at her quizzically. "The Burning of King Olaf? The name sounds familiar." I said. Alyssa grinned.

"Have you ever heard of King Olaf?" she asked. When I shook my head, she explained. "He was a king in the First Era who apparently betrayed Solitude and was burned because of it. The festival celebrates the anniversary of his burning."

I gave a tired sigh. "Naturally. Only the Nords would annually celebrate an execution that happened eras ago." I said.

"So, you in? I'd really like you to come; we haven't hung out together since the College." Alyssa said, ignoring my comment (I think she's used to it).

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I can go. Delvin still hasn't figured anything out from that note?" Alyssa shook her head. "Then yeah, I'll go; don't have anything better to do than sit around here all day anyway." I said, lightening up my friend's face.

"Yeah! The festival is in a few days so we have to leave today." She said, prompting a startled reaction from me.

"You sure didn't wait until the last minute, did you?" I said, though I belatedly realized that that wasn't unusual.

Alyssa grinned like a cat. "Then what are we waiting for? C'mon, let's go pack."

* * *

By noon, the two of us were easily seated in a carriage on our way to Solitude, our bags sitting at our feet and Shade curled into a ball as far as she could get to the front. I looked up into the sky, with the sun directly above us, though it was still unable to chase away the chill. After the two of us left the Bee and Barb, we had headed back to Alyssa's house (which I learned was called Honeyside) and quickly packed what we were going to need. Being that I travel almost constantly, it was a simple matter of grabbing my bag from downstairs and heading back up to the part of the house that was at least remotely warm. Due to that, I had the rare opportunity of having to wait on my little red-haired traveling companion ("hurry up, Alyssa! You were the one who had to wait 'til the last second"). I must say, the looks she gave me then could give an Orc a heart attack.

"Alright, madams, this is Solitude." Said the carriage driver, turning back to us. I nodded and grabbed my knapsack, slinging it over my shoulder. I jumped down from the carriage, followed by Alyssa and then Shade. Together the three of us walked up the hill to Skyrim's capital.

* * *

"OK, so I was over at Radiant Raiment and I got you something to wear to the festival." Said Alyssa, handing me a blue dress with fur trimming. I stood and took the outfit, and unfolding it, studied its design. We were in our room in Solitude's The Winking Skeever, which had unfortunately been nearly rented out for the festival, so the three of us had gotten stuck with a single double bed. _Good thing it's only for one night._

After renting our room, Alyssa had decided to go 'shopping' while Shade and I had gotten lunch. The two of us had just returned and sat down on the bed when Alyssa had come in carrying several things that I was certain hadn't been obtained legally.

"Wow, Alyssa." Was all I seemed to be able to say. Alyssa walked over to where I stood, looking at both me and the dress with the intensity that only a thief would have (or someone trained in such fields).

"It looks like it fits. Try it on. If it doesn't, I can just take it back." She said.

"Really? Because the people at Radiant Raiment don't look like the kind to accept refunds." I said. But Alyssa merely motioned towards the dress, though a sly smile crept onto her face. _Something tells me that the people at Radiant Raiment don't even know that Alyssa made a purchase._

I quickly slipped out of my robes and into the dress, jumping a little as the silky fabric brushed against my skin, which, along with my hair, I had decent sense to wash right before we left Riften. The dress stopped at my ankles, and looking in the mirror, found that it had seemingly transformed me from a girl who could barely get food into her mouth to someone who probably had young mer vying for her attention. _That is, if I didn't look like I couldn't decide what kind of elf I wanted to be._ It was a kind of dress that was very common attire among the nobles of Skyrim, who seemed to wear it every day to show themselves off (or at least their gold, which, according to Alyssa, they never seemed to be able hide very well).

"It looks good on you." Said Alyssa, who stood behind me as I studied myself in the mirror in our room.

"Yeah, but I'm only ever going to wear this thing once; it's not like I can lug it around Skyrim and even if I did, I'm not one for going to large celebrations." I said, not able to take my eyes off myself.

"Well, I can hold on to it. I have a house; it should be used for _something_ other than a place to sleep when I can't stand the Cistern." Said Alyssa. She walked back over to the bed and picked up a pair of fine black fur boots. "Here, if you're going to wear a dress, the least you could do is wear the appropriate footwear." She said and then went to rummage through her own things. Shade jumped off from her spot on the bed and walked up beside me, studying my reflection as if I had been replaced by some nobleman's daughter and she didn't know what to do with me.

"Oh! Here." Came Alyssa behind me. I turned just in time to catch something small and wooden. I turned it over to find that it was a brush. "If the puppy thought we were the only ones dressing up, think again. We aren't going to the festival looking like royalty and Shade looking like some mangy wolf." Alyssa said, looking over her shoulder. Shade immediately gave a complaining howl while I just laughed at the situation.

We spent the next few hours trying to get ready for the festival, which proved difficult as Shade was opposed to us brushing out every tangle in her fur. When the three of us had finally managed to get ready, we moved as one out of the inn and down toward where the festival was just getting started.

Once we had neared where the burning would commence, Alyssa pulled me aside. "Hey, I'm going to go see if I can't find anything interesting. I'll join you guys in a little bit, OK?" she said, but before I could reply, she had disappeared into the growing crowd. I sighed and moved over to where the effigy of King Olaf would be burned at sunset, in the courtyard behind the Bards College. Already people had crowded into the small area, dancing to the music played by several of the College's students who had volunteered for the event. In the small alleyway that connected the courtyard to the main street, merchants from the market place were calling out their food items, some of them, I noticed, that were not usually on the market. The effigy itself was a stuffed dummy with an inked on face and a paper crown situated crookedly on his head and stood above the crowd mounted by a large wooden post. Looking up into the sky, I saw that it would only be few more hours before the celebration would be temporary halted to showcase the burning.

Finding myself feeling slightly unnerved by the crowd of people pouring into the festival and unsure of what to exactly do, I quickly grabbed myself a meat pie and a raw rabbit leg for Shade and the two of us seated ourselves on the stairs on the right side of the courtyard. While we ate our snacks, I studied the view just outside: in the coming dusk, the light from the sun had turned the water a deep sapphire, which would soon be replaced by the reds and oranges of a full sunset. Looking into the crowd, I managed to find Alyssa, who was drinking and was surrounded by several men who seemed to have a bit too much attention on her, and not on their valuables. _Naturally. She leaves me and Shade to figure out ourselves while she goes and steals a bunch of noblemen's fancy trinkets!_ I focused on my Breton friend and watched as she leaned onto one of the men's shoulders, laughing. He never noticed that when she took her weight off that he was missing his pretty jeweled ring.

"Excuse me, everyone. May I have your attention?" boomed a voice in the center as the sun hit the horizon. I looked over to the center to see an Altmer standing by the effigy with a torch in his hand. He wore a fancy blue coat that went down to his knees with a red shirt of the same material underneath, a common outfit for the wealthy and fine boots to complete it. His blond hair had somehow been fluffed up, as well as a full mustache and beard that was tied in a knot. Though I never met the elf, I knew who he was: Viarmo, Headmaster of the Bards College. Realizing that it was time for the burning of the effigy, the people in the courtyard quickly made a circle around the bard. Not wanting my vision to be obscured by a bunch of people, I trailed over to the effigy, pushing past the crowd until I was at the center of the circle, with Viarmo not far to my left. I glanced down to see Shade standing on my right.

Viarmo waited until the whole courtyard was quiet until saying, "Welcome, people of Solitude! We of the Bards College are pleased to be here to celebrate the Burning of King Olaf. The festival would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our members." He paused to allow the crowd to clap for his approval. With a raise of his hand, the crowd quieted to allow him to continue.

"With the lighting of the effigy…" he trailed off as he approached the effigy. In a swift movement, he placed the torch against its feet and the dry cloth and straw easily lit with a roar of flames, engulfing the effigy in seconds. A few people stepped back as they realized just how hot the fire was, though I stayed my ground, finding warmth comforting. "…we condemn all those who have wronged our beautiful land as well as remember those who have brought us prosperity and saved us from troubling times." Again he paused to allow the crowd to applaud before continuing.

"Before we allow the celebration to continue, I would like to recite King Olaf's Verse from Poetic Edda, which was used to save the festival many years ago." The crowd clapped once more before Viarmo raised a hand for silence. He took a deep breath before singing:

"_O, Olaf, our subjugator, the one-eyed betrayer;_  
_death-dealing demon and dragon-killing King._  
_Your legend is lies, lurid and false;_  
_your cunning capture of Numinex, a con for the ages._  
_No shouting match between dragon and man, no fire or fury did this battle entail._  
_Olaf was Numinex in human form, on moonless nights he would spread wings and sail._

_Olaf grabbed power, by promise and threat;_  
_From Falkreath to Winterhold, they fell to their knees;_  
_But Solitude stood strong, Skyrim's truest protectors._  
_Olaf's vengeance was instant, inspired and wicked._  
_Olaf gave orders, Winterhold disguises. An attack on Solitude total destruction to follow._  
_His men dressed up and then went out to fight, but they reversed Olaf's orders much to Winterhold's sorrow._

_So ends the story of Olaf the liar, a thief and a scoundrel we of Solitude commit to the fire._  
_In Solitude bards train for their service, they also gather each year and burn a King who deserves it."_

The crowd cheered as Viarmo bowed deeply. When he stood, he motioned for towards the bards in the corner and quickly they brought up a cheerful Nordic song and I watched as the citizens of Solitude's faces light up in recognition.

"Well, that was rather interesting." Said a voice behind me. Beside me, Shade looked back at the speaker and something unreadable crossed over her face. I ignored it and, without looking back at him, replied, "Yes, it certainly was. Something tells me that you're not from Skyrim."

The voice behind laughed as if I had told a joke. Studying it, I realized that it was not only masculine, but also elven. "No, I am most certainly not. Neither are you, I can tell."

"No, of course not, though I have been in Skyrim for quite some time now." I said over my shoulder. The elf then laughed again and I was starting to get annoyed with him.

"Yes, same here. I assume that, like me, you merely came to enjoy the festivities and to also try and learn the Nord's culture." He said. It was my turn to laugh.

"No, I actually came with a friend who wanted to go, but unfortunately she seems to have busied herself with everyone except me." I said ruefully. I glanced around, but the crowd was too thick for me to spot my best friend.

"You know, I find it odd that the Nord's hold such a large celebration for an execution that happened in the First Era, don't you?" murmured the elf, his voice coming from right behind my ear.

I gave a small laugh. "Yes, actually I told my friend the very same thing before we left for the festival. Oddly, she didn't have an answer for that." I said.

"Really. So your friend is a Nord?" he asked.

"Only half, though she only vaguely shows it. Her more dominant half is Breton." I said.

"Just like Altmer is your dominant half. And the other half is Dunmer. Which is also why you're so damn close to this fire." He said, his words feeling like an arrow in the heart. _Of course. Without your hood, anybody can see that you're a hybrid._ Suddenly a chilling thought ran through me. _What if he's Thalmor?_ That's when I realized that his voice was Altmer, and that it was slightly familiar. Suddenly I wished that I had had the sense to try and stick my dagger in my boot. _Crap._

I whirled around, but the mer caught my arm quickly and firmly, making it impossible to escape. Instinct kicked in and any thought about the guards was disappeared from my mind. I was about to summon Flames with my free hand, but as I looked up into him, the light from the burning effigy lit his features easily and I soon found my breath lodged in my throat, as I realized that I recognized him.

It had been a while, but I could still tell who he was. He wore a rich tunic and leggings that he had obviously paid good money to buy, though I knew that he had always been subtle in his attire. His eyes were an orange-yellow, almost gold, like all Altmer, as well as having the usual pale gold skin. As with all elves, he possessed an angular face along with high cheekbones and slanted eyes. For once, his mouth had color: a pale red that didn't make it disappear into his skin, similar to mine. Unlike most Altmer, he was well-muscled, especially in the arms, which showed that he was a swordsman, but he still came off a bit lanky due to Altmer naturally being unnecessarily tall (a trait that my Dunmer blood suppressed), so I that when I looked straight ahead, my eyes met his chest. He had arched eyebrows and a nose that were normal for Altmer as well. But the thing that I noticed quite easily was that his hair was a dirty blonde, which was darker than most Altmer (seriously, high elves have only about one hair color!). But unlike when I last saw him, where it had been messy and falling past his shoulders, his hair now was combed and neatly cut to the base of his neck. It was his hair that had been his defining feature, as it was the only thing that had set him apart from his cousin. _Guess that's why I always thought they were brothers up until when he told me._

"Hello, Mivryna. It's been a long time." He said, his smile causing my stomach to flip upside down.

I swallowed, not wanting to speak. But I did, and when I did my voice was small and squeaky, like a mouse, and I could only get out one word.

"Ranar."

**Final note: for those of you who don't remember who Ranar is, reread _Chapter 6: A Night of Blood and Fire_.**


	21. Chapter 21: The Politics of a Heart

**And I've finally completed chapter 21! Honestly couldn't wait to write this chapter as it is really a key part in the beginning of the story, along with giving you readers needed information. Speaking of which, if you guys still have any questions (I purposely left some stuff out so I would be able to use it later) please, _please_ PM me. And not on just Ranar, but on anything that confuses you in the story. I won't hesitate to answer (unless its plot related and then I'm afraid I'm going to just have to tell you to stick around and wait and see). Hopefully this will fill in a few questions that have been needing answering and also throw another plot wrench into the mix (like I don't have enough of those). On a final note: to Worn Steel7, you wanted Ranar back (and so did I; just couldn't seem to get to him fast enough) so here's a whole chapter dedicated to him! And with that, please review.**

"You're alive? But- but how? Did anyone else make it out?" I asked frantically, the questions practically flying out of my mouth.

Ranar held up his hands in surrender. "Whoa, easy there. One at a time." He put his hands down. "Besides, you might not like what I have to say." He whispered.

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get the words out, I felt a hard bump on my shoulder. "Hey!" yelled a couple who gave us dark looks.

"Sorry," I murmured half-sincerely and quickly looked back at Ranar. With only a moment's decision, I grabbed his wrist and led him out of the crowd to the set of stairs that Shade and I had sat on earlier. It was there that I faced him again. "I don't care if the news is good or bad. I've lived here in Skyrim for a year and a half and not once have I had any idea of what happened to the place where I spent fourteen years of my life. Ranar, please; I need to know."

Ranar took a deep breath. Whatever it was that he was going to tell me, it must be bad. "Cheydinhal is no more. The whole town was burned to the ground. There's nothing left." He said simply. My next intake of breath was sharp and seemed to stay in my throat, threatening to almost suffocate me. _Cheydinhal's gone. My whole hometown, just blown right off the map. Or rather, burned off._ I looked down at my feet, not able to meet the eyes of the Altmer standing next to me. _It's my fault. They were after me and the whole town paid for it. No doubt anyone who survived will have blamed the whole thing on me, as well as they should._

"Mivryna." Came Ranar's voice through my thoughts, unusually kind and soft, his elven dialect turning my stomach in painful twists. Suddenly, Ranar's fingers brushed up against the bottom of my chin and gently pushed my head upward, forcing me to meet his eyes, which studied me worriedly. I felt tears start to threaten me and I quickly looked away, his hand moving away as I did so. But instead of going back to his side, I felt it go around to my back, where it rested there. Slowly he rubbed it up and down my back, sending my nerves on edge with each stroke and somehow managing to resume my breathing, which I seemed unable to release until now.

I rested my head against him and the two of us stood there until I had finally gotten control of myself. When I did, I took a step back and met Ranar's gaze with my own. He smiled, but it was weak and failed to lift my spirits. I felt something brush against my side and looked down to see Shade staring up at me, a pitying whine escaping her. I smiled down at her, but like Ranar's, it was weak and failed to achieve its goal.

"Hey, there." Said Ranar as he took note of Shade and reached down to pet her. "So you've the one keeping an eye on Mivryna here, huh? Is she a lot of trouble?" he asked playfully. Shade whined and moved her head to give him better reach as he scratched her behind the ear. I couldn't help but smile at that.

"Careful. Shade's just as smart as you." I warned, knowing all too well what would happen when someone misjudges the young shadow wolf.

"Really." Ranar said jokingly, looking at me. He looked down at Shade, who nodded in agreement. The Altmer's eyes widened in disbelief. "Well, I guess you were right. I'll make sure not to get on your bad side then." He said, looking from me to my wolf. Shade moved to the top of the steps, where she then sat down, looking at the two of us with what seemed to be the face of a fox.

Suddenly the music changed to a sort of ballad as Ranar's face lit up in recognition. The smile that came to his face made me feel like he had an idea that I knew I wouldn't like. "I know this song. Good to see that we aren't the only elves here tonight." He said, smiling down at me. An idea of what he was thinking came to mind, and suddenly I wished that the bards had just stuck to Nord songs. "Mivryna, would you care to dance?" he asked in a gentleman-like voice. At that moment I felt my cheeks heat up and was sure that they were red.

"I-I I don't know how to dance." I said, my voice breaking. _For once, couldn't my parents have taught me something other than casting a spell or swinging a sword? Not that that hasn't been helpful…_

Ranar gave a small laugh, though the tone wasn't scornful or mocking; in fact, it seemed playful. "Well, it's a good thing I do. Don't worry; I won't let you fall. In fact, this one is pretty basic. It should be easy to learn." He said, gently grabbing my arm and leading me to the dance floor. Once there, he set me a few paces apart.

"OK, now you place your hand here." He said, taking my left hand and placing it on his shoulder. He then placed his right hand along my side, his touch making me jump a little. "Relax. I'm not going to bite." He said into my ear. He then leaned back to get a better look at me. "All right. Now we take our hands like this…" he said as he took my right hand in his left, holding it firmly, but not hard enough to hurt. "And we step closer…" he said as he closed the gap between us, making it where I could hear every intake of his breath, which somehow made mine come shorter and faster as I looked up into his eyes.

"Don't be so nervous." Said Ranar calmly. _Easy for him to say! He's done this before!_ I thought as Ranar continued. "Now for the actual dancing. First, you step back." He said, and quickly I backed up as he followed my step. "Don't be so stiff. Loosen up a little. This is a slow dance, so don't move like you're jumping out of the way of a sword or something."

Ranar had meant it as a joke, but he didn't know the truth; that dodging a sword or an arrow had seemed to become my whole life. "Normally, I am." I said, my voice calm. Ranar's shoulders tensed, and for good reason; after being on the run for so long, the whole thing tends to take a toll on you. Not even I could tell what had happened to the fourteen year old me who had cried her heart out because her childhood friend was moving away.

"Let's try it again, but now in the opposite direction." Said Ranar, who ignored my comment, and he lightly stepped back and I followed him, this time slower and actually using my elven grace. "Much better. How about we try it a few more times?" We did, and by the second time, I was actually starting to get it. _If this is all there is to this dance, then I'm golden._

"Alright, you seem to have the most basic steps down. Think you can handle adding a little variety?" he asked. _Crud. Naturally, things are never as easy as you wish them to._

"What do you have in mind?" I said, after trying to find my voice for a moment. Ranar's eyes seemed to twinkle like stars as he shifted his weight. Suddenly, he drew me in closer, making our faces just a few inches apart. He curled our arms in a way that reminded me of a snake coiled and ready to strike.

"I'm going to spin you, alright?" he asked, but before I could answer, I felt myself pushed outward, the world moving around me as I twirled away from him at a speed that made me breathless. When I finally stopped, I was an arm's length away from him. I looked down my arm and met his eyes and suddenly wished I hadn't. _He looks at me the same way Malcolm did, except that his is kinder, genuine in fact. Ranar really means it. He really cares for me._ As those thoughts floated through my mind, a tightening feeling rose from my stomach to my chest, making my breath become quick and shallow.

Just as quickly as the first feeling came, apprehension formed in my gut, causing a pain that almost made me gasp. _Ranar really cares for me. And in my life, people who really care for me end up dying when it should have been me. When I should have been the one to get hurt, somehow it always ends up being some else. Someone I care about._ Ranar pulled me in, twirling me as I reentered his embrace. Up close, Ranar smelled of soap, but, with him being a swordsman, that probably wasn't usually the case. "How was that?" he asked, his voice sweet and warm. _Oh gods._ My mind begged. _Don't do this to me._

"That was amazing." I breathed, forcing my thoughts to remember the fast, weightless feeling of flying through the air, but it was quickly overrun by more morbid thoughts. _One day, he'll take a dagger that was meant for you. Do you really want to do that to someone you care about a third time? First it was your parents, then Nirya, and now you want it to be Ranar? How can you live with yourself?_ My mind battered at me. _I can't_ was the only answer I could give.

"Mivryna? Is something wrong?" he asked as we continued dancing, and I knew that I had to look pathetic because the moment Ranar saw my face, he took his hand away from my side and laid it against the side of my face, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "Mivryna, please, tell me. What has you so upset?" _You can't tell him. He won't believe you._

I remembered our conversation from before and decided to use it as a distraction. "How many people survived the fire?" I asked. In truth, it wasn't really what was bothering me, but it was something that I needed to know. _How many people died so I could escape?_

Ranar flinched. He really didn't want to go back to this. "Mivryna, this isn't really the time. Besides, the news will only upset you." He said, his voice quiet and low.

I shook my head. "I need to know, Ranar. Besides, if not now, then when? This was my hometown we're talking about! Where I grew up, the only place I've known until coming here. And even now, I still don't really belong anywhere. Cheydinhal was my _home_. I should at least be allowed to know its fate. And that of everyone else's." I argued, my voice pleading. _Stop hiding the truth just to spare my feelings! I have enough mysteries in my life! I don't need anymore!_

Ranar sighed. "You're right. I just…" He shook his head in an attempt to find the words. "I just don't want see you hurt." I said forcibly, as if saying this was the hardest thing he'd done. He put his head against mine, so that I could feel his warmth against me. "I can't stand the thought of hurting you." He said, so low that I nearly missed it. _He isn't making this easy._

I swallowed hard. "You can't hurt me. Not like this, anyway." I said just as quietly. _The only way you can hurt me is if I let you_ whispered my voice through my mind.

The moment that laid in between seemed so still that I swear I could hear my heartbeat and, for a moment, everyone else could too. Then, "After I made sure that you had gotten away safely, I went back inside to see if I could get anyone else out." He said, his voice only loud enough for me to hear. "But the fire… the fire burned so hot, it utterly destroyed anything it touched. Even stone and metal." He said, his voice shocked at the memory. I flinched underneath him.

"It was magic. They used magic to set the fire." I said.

"Yeah, that became obvious. Once the fire caught a house in its grasp, the whole place was ablaze within seconds. And so did anyone unlucky enough to be trapped by that _thing_."

"So how many were unlucky?" I asked, my voice a whisper.

Ranar pressed his head against mine as he breathed hard. "Everyone. Everyone except three." He said, his voice filled with sorrow.

For the first few minutes, I struggled to control my breathing. _Everyone! Nobody made it out of there alive! Except for three. And those would be me, Ranar, and…_ "Ranar?" I asked quietly, fighting the urge to burst into tears.

He already knew my question. And I already knew his answer. "Malcolm. He managed to make it out."

My heart truly just skipped a beat for a moment. "H-how?" Whatever question I was going to add was caught in my voice. Even my mind couldn't seem to finish a single thought. _Malcolm is alive. And if Ranar's here, then he could be…_

"I don't know. Honestly, I thought I killed him with that tree branch that night." When he glanced at me (my face _had_ to be as white as bone), he assured me, "Don't worry, Malcolm isn't in Skyrim. He stayed in Cyrodiil, headed for the Imperial City. Probably to blame the fire on you, though." He said, the last part grudgingly. "The last I heard, he was going to follow in his father's footsteps; become a member of the Thalmor."

"I wouldn't doubt that they accepted him. After all, his father was one of them."

"And once he does, he'll make it his personal mission to track you down." He said.

"Well, it's been a year and a half and I'm still here." I said defensively; an attempt to try and act brave but was merely a front. Inside, I wanted to run to some unknown cave miles from any civilization and hide in its darkest corners forever. But I learned hiding never helped anyone; it only made it worse.

"His father's favor will only help him so much. And only the truly ambitious manage to reach the level he wants to go." Said Ranar.

"And Malcolm has that ambition. He chased after me, didn't he?" I said. Ranar made a noise of agreement. For a while, we just danced in silence, going back and forth, back and forth, continuing even after the song ended and a new one took its place. Ranar knew this one as well and soon the two of us took up another dance, this one more upbeat and more complicated, but after a few minutes, I was easily keeping time with my dance partner, matching his step with my own.

After the song had ended, Ranar led me out of the courtyard and down to where the merchants had step up shop. After buying a meal for the two of us, we walked a bit a ways from the festival and ate, enjoying the night in companionable silence.

It was only when we had nearly finished did I break the quiet. "Ranar, why did you come to Skyrim?" I asked after trying to find another question, but failing.

Ranar swallowed what he was eating before saying, "My father was in the Imperial Legion. Fought in the Great War, in fact. I was always proud of him, so I followed in his footsteps. After Cheydinhal burned, I, not unlike Malcolm, went to the Imperial City and joined up. The Empire figured that, being partly raised in a family of the Thalmor, I might be a great help. That and they remembered my father and were overjoyed to have his son on board," he turned to look at me, "A little bit after being recruited, they sent me here to Skyrim. I wish I had known you were here too. I was actually trying to find a way to be sent back to Cryodiil in order to look for you." He said slightly cheerfully, but I could tell that his voice was bittersweet. _He must have lost his father. That would explain why he got stuck with Edwendir and them_ my mind told me as I absorbed this new information. For the longest time, I had thought that Ranar was just as stuck up as the rest of his family. But, then again, I also thought he and Malcolm were brothers. _And he tried to go looking for you._

"Your father was important to the Legion?" I asked, catching on.

Ranar smiled fondly when he looked at me then. "Yeah, he was a Legate during the war. He quit after I born though."

"Why?" I asked. "Why didn't he stay with the Legion? Couldn't your mother take care of you?"

Ranar shook his head. "My birth was hard on her. A few months later she got sick and died during my first winter." He said, his voice pained. "I never got know her."

I put a hand on his shoulder and he looked at me. "They say ignorance is bliss. And they're right. It's better that you didn't know your mother. Otherwise, all your good memories of her will just remind you of her death." I said, tears coming to my eyes. Seeing that, Ranar reached up and brushed them away gently with his thumb. I laid my head on his shoulder as he draped an arm around me.

"We're both orphans now." Said Ranar. "For better or for worse."

"More like worse." I said melancholy. I glanced up and watched as a drunken couple walked by, singing and laughing as they tripped over each other. I smiled slightly as Ranar laughed quietly to himself at the sight.

"You know, this is supposed to be a happy celebration and we're here moping about the past. C'mon, how about we go and actually have some fun. That was the whole reason I went up to you."

I laughed. "Oh really. You sure it wasn't because you were _looking_ for me?" I teased, and Ranar smiled slyly. Unfortunately, the Altmer could be just as cruel because he quickly reached around me and tickled my far side, forcing me into him and his other hand. I was quickly caught in his grasp as he used one arm to tickle my stomach and the other to hold me close to him, causing me to laugh and squirm until I was out of breath and my side hurt and I had to smack him hard in the arm to get him to stop.

I looked up at him then and found myself smiling happily to myself, completely caught in his warm golden eyes. "Would you care to dance?" he asked.

"I'd be delighted." I answered. As one, we got up from the steps of the house (whose owner I would not doubt was probably drunk or passed out somewhere) we sat on and returned back to the courtyard, where another ballad was being played. I spent the rest of the night in Ranar's arms, the two of us dancing away song after song. At one point, I spotted Alyssa drinking a bottle of spiced wine next to Shade, who just grinned at us happily.

_You're going to hurt him._ My mind whispered to me. _This is wrong._ I laid my head against Ranar's chest, who had moved his hand to rest in between my shoulders. _I really care for him._ I thought. _Perhaps just as much as he cares for me. Yeah, and if you really care for him, you won't let him get involved with you. Because it's bad for his health._ My guarded Dunmer side warned me. But for once the naïve Altmer in me decided to put a fight. _Just one night. Just give me one night to be truly happy. That's all._ The Dunmer in me argued but finally gave in to the Altmer's begging. But it wasn't done. _One night. But after that, we return to the real world. The world where people you love get hurt because you let your feelings get the better of you. A world that's cold and you have to be even colder._ The Altmer begrudging agreed. For one, that was the side of me that kept me alive. And from being broken. I closed my eyes as I slowly breathed in and out, and for once in what seemed like a century, I enjoyed the company of another.

I don't really remember the final moments of that night. All I really remember was Ranar stroking my hair as we danced, and sometimes, rarely, the semi consciousness of my mind gives a second memory. In it, Ranar is walking down the street down to the rows of houses, carrying me in his arms.


	22. Chapter 22: Holding Back

**And I am finally back with my next chapter! I've been really trying to get this thing finished, but my life's drama has really taken a turn, so I basically only get the weekend to work on this. Luckily time restraints aren't going to make me give this up, so you'll still get chapters, just not as often as any of us would like. I hope to try and get a chapter up every week, but that plan seems a little unlikely. No matter what though, I've really enjoyed making this story and hearing all your responses, so I won't be giving this up any time soon, so all my fans out there can celebrate. Well, I going to quit my little rant for now and let you guys read. Just please rate and review. PM for any questions as well!**

_Darkness surrounded me. Then I heard his voice. "You. You've destroyed _everything_." Suddenly, I was back in Cheydinhal, a year and a half ago, when Malcolm had thrust me up against that tree and had prepared to kill me._

_ "You stole everything from me, you filthy little hybrid bitch." He said, spitting the last word into my face. I struggled but found it useless; Malcolm (like everyone else) had always been much stronger. Through the glow of the fire raging around us, I could make out his features, which were very much like Ranar's, though slightly younger due to how far back in time I was and the fact that Malcolm was only his cousin. In fact, Malcolm and Ranar looked nearly identical, except that Malcolm had longer hair as well as it being golden instead of a dirty blonde like Ranar's. Bringing myself back to the current situation, I watched as Malcolm drew his dagger, its sight aimed for my defenseless neck._

_ "Ranar won't be here to save you this time. You took my whole life from me! And now you'll pay with your own!" And with that, the blade cut through the space between us and into my throat, destroying my voice and filling my mouth with blood._

I woke with a gasp which quickly became a cry of pain as a heavy weight crushed my abdomen. I opened my eyes and looked up to see that my sight was being blocked out by someone's face being mere inches from my own. And that face had fiery red hair.

"Oh for once in an Era, Divines." She swore as she looked up to the ceiling. She then looked back down at me. "MIVRYNA, WAKE UP! IT'S SIX O' CLOCK!"

"Alright, alright. I was already awake. Now get off me!" I said as I pressed my hands against her side as a signal that she _was heavy_ (seriously, how is the little Breton heavier than me?). Alyssa quickly jumped off the bed (hey, wait a minute; when did I go to sleep last night?) but the weight on top of me was quickly replaced by someone else. Someone covered in pitch-black fur and a wet nose.

"Shade! When I told Alyssa to get off, I didn't mean for you to then go and get on top of me!" I said, my voice strained as Shade laid her head down on my chest, making no move to get off. I just shook my head and lay back onto the pillows.

"Who in the Eight are you?" came a male Altmeri voice and I quickly snapped my head up to see Ranar staring at Alyssa in horror, an elven dagger in his left hand. I glanced over to the Breton in question, who was just examining her nails. _Very helpful, Alyssa._

"Relax, Ranar, she's a friend of mine. She was the one who came with me to the festival…" I paused for a moment, unsure of the time.

Ranar smiled. "Yesterday. You've only slept here for the night. Or what was left of it." He then turned towards the thief leaning by the wall next to the nightstand. "And you." He said, waiting for Alyssa to give him her full attention. "how did you even get in my house?" he asked bewildered.

Alyssa grinned. "Do you really want me to answer that?" she said mischievously, giving me a look. Across the room, Ranar paled, but lowered his dagger.

"No, I don't think I do." He said, his voice a little nervous.

"Ah, you're clever." Smiling, Alyssa pushed herself off the wall and made her way out of the room, Ranar's eyes never leaving her. As she passed him, she gave him an unnervingly polite grin. "By the way, it's Nine."

"Hey, I'm not trying to start a fight." Ranar replied, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Good." Was all she said and she quickly left the room. Immediately Ranar looked around and his eyes zoomed onto the dresser beside the door.

"Of all the things I have in here, all she takes is that strange pink gem." I barely heard him mutter. Ranar then turned to me. "Is she-"He broke off and shook his head as if disregarding the question. He then started over, this time, on a lighter note.

"How did you sleep last night?" he asked, coming to sit at the end of the bed. I studied him and noticed that he had switched out of the clothes he wore for the Burning of King Olaf Festival and was now wearing a simple belted tunic and boots with his elven dagger tied to it.

"Alright, I guess." I said nonchalantly. I looked around the bedroom, studying its design. _Ranar said this was his house. If it is, how did he get the money to pay for it? There's no way that this place came cheap._ "Ranar, where are we?" I asked.

He smiled as he gestured toward the room. "This is my house. The Nords formally call it Proudspire Manor, I do believe."

I looked around, finding myself feeling awkward at being in such a huge house. "How in Tamriel did you pay for this?! Surely the Legion doesn't pay you _that_ well." I asked. Ranar's gold eyes glittered in the light streaming through the windows; I tried to ignore the fact that it made my stomach jump.

"Well, since the Civil War is over, the Legion doesn't really know what to do with all the soldiers that signed up to fight. So mostly I actually just go and explore Skyrim, to, you know, get better aquatinted with the land and its people." When I raised my eyebrows at him, he laughed (once again making my stomach twist. _Remember what happened with the others. Your parents, Nirya._). "Despite what you may think, adventuring pays quite well."

I smirked. "Really. And where, exactly, do you manage to find all this gold?" Ranar just shrugged.

"Helping others I guess. Seemed to do me some good; after all, it allowed me to be able to become Thane of Haafinger." He said like it was no big deal, but I swear that if I had been drinking something, I'd have spit it out.

"You're Thane of Haafinger? How?" I asked. _Seriously, have I been living in a cave for the past year and a half? Wait, I don't think I want to answer that._

Ranar smiled at my look. "Well, I guess when you help out the Jarl and her people, she tends to want to reward you." He said, frustratingly leaving it at that. Before I could try and continue my barrage of questions, Ranar cut me off one of with his own.

"How are you holding up since last night? I could hear you tossing and muttering something desperately in your sleep." He said, his voice filled with worry. Suddenly I remembered my recent dream, and the ever-wary Dunmer part of my mind kicked into action.

"As good as I could get. I didn't even realize that I was dreaming." I said, a part of me hating myself for lying. _Why? It's not like it's going to kill him. Besides, he's only going to worry._ My mind responded. _Yeah, but this is Ranar. He saved your life. You at least owe him the truth._ The Dunmer in me immediately then told the moral Altmer to shut up, as it was not helping.

"Well, I was just checking. After all, it's not every day that you hear about what happened to your hometown." He said, trying not to make his words seem cold. But he didn't have to; they cut through me like a dagger, no matter how gentle.

"I'm fine." I said, looking down at Shade, who had been quietly listening to our conversation from her comfortable spot on top of me (there is a whole other side of this bed; use it and not me!) "I'm just-"

"HEY, MIVRYNA!" came Alyssa's voice from downstairs.

"What?" I asked.

"HURRY UP AND GET DOWN HERE! I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SHOW YOU!" I immediately groaned. _When does she _not_ have something to show me? And I bet you that it involves me doing something I'd rather not be doing._ Beside me, Ranar was trying to keep from laughing.

"That friend of yours is quite the character, huh?" he said, a chuckle escaping him.

"You have no idea." I said, prompting Ranar to give up trying to hold back his laughter, which struck a hard pain in my heart. _You promised that you wouldn't get involved with him._ My mind warned. But I ignored the thought for now. "I'd better go and get dressed. Alyssa isn't known for her patience." I said, noting my knapsack at the foot of the bed. _You know, I really need to stop forgetting the sack of leather that has my whole life in it._

I looked over at Ranar, who was still sitting at the foot of the bed. "You know, when I say I need to get dressed, that usually means that any male presences in the room need to leave." I said. Ranar gave me a cocky grin.

"Oh really. It is _my_ house, after all. And maybe I don't feel like leaving _my_ room." He said, tilting his head to the side. _Okay, if you want to play this game, then fine. But you asked for it._

"Shade." I called sweetly. The young shadow wolf looked up at me. I grinned, first to her, then to the male Altmer who was now standing warily. "Sick him." Shade immediately barked and leapt off the bed (and me) and gave chase to the Altmer fleeing out the room, leaving it satisfyingly empty.

I quickly leaped out of bed and shut the door, muffling Shade's barking and Ranar's cries for her to get off him and that she was completely insane as well as Alyssa's roaring laughter. I smiled to myself at what the sight down there must look like while I threw off the old shirt that had apparently been my nightgown for the evening (I'm just going to try to _not_ think of what that could imply). Within seconds, I was dressed and ready for the day, whatever it might bring me.

But I stopped short, though, before heading out the door. This was the first time I was able to actually think about what Ranar had told me last night. _Cheydinhal burned to the ground and there were only three survivors: me, Ranar, and his cursed cousin Malcolm. And to matters worse, Malcolm is now a member of the Thalmor, and the both of them are going to come after me with a vengeance! The only good thing is that the Thalmor are keeping him in Cyrodiil and that he doesn't know where I am. Heck, Ranar didn't even know I left, so how can I assume Malcolm does as well?_ That last thought brought me some peace, but something in the back of my brain was nagging at me, trying to tell me something important. I tried to think back, and when I finally found it, horror struck me in the stomach hard enough to bring me to my knees.

The memory was of Markarth, back when I had gone to Understone Keep. _When I had ran into that Thalmor wizard, he said he thought he had seen me from somewhere. What if he was right! Even if Malcolm isn't high enough up to be little more than a foot soldier (that thought is actually a little funny), he can still tell the Thalmor about me. It wouldn't have been hard to give them my description; he's known me for most of my life! Gods, I'm lucky that Thalmor didn't recognize me, or else I'd be learning about Malcolm's continued existence from the rat himself! _I sighed inwardly. _This is just perfect; first some anonymous assassins, then the freaking Dark Brotherhood (well, I _assume_ they're after me; all they've done is sent me a creepy note), and now the bloody Thalmor. If I'm not careful, one of them is going to catch me. And if one of them catches me…_ I ended my trail of thought, not wanting to think of the consequences, but it didn't stop my mind from thinking of some less than idealistic ways of how my life could end. _All I know is that things are going to get slippery around here. I just hope that I don't trip._

* * *

"There you are! We've been waiting _forever_!" said Alyssa as I came down the stairs. Both she and Ranar sat in the living room around a small table next to a large window, early morning light streaming in. Ranar sat with his back to me, reading a book, but looked up when he heard me, his smile twisting my stomach. _Don't get involved…_ The annoying red-haired Breton that I had the misfortune of calling my friend sat opposite of Ranar, with her back to the window. And not surprisingly, Alyssa had her feet on the table and hands resting behind her head, looking for the entire world like she lived here. _Very nice, Alyssa. Break into someone's house and then get comfortable after you're caught. What kind of thief are you?_

"Actually, _she's_ been the one impatiently waiting. _I_, on the other hand, was more than content to sit here." Said Ranar, jabbing a finger at the thief.

Alyssa scowled. "Well, _you're_ the one who doesn't have somewhere they need to be." She said simply. I quickly decided to break up the fight.

"All right, enough. Alyssa, you said you had something to show me?" I asked.

Alyssa grinned ear to ear. "That I do. I _found _something at the festival that seemed very interesting, and I need your help with it." She said, being vague due to Ranar's presence.

The Altmer looked up at the both of us before sighing. "Oh, if you two need to be somewhere, then go. The front door is right over there." He said, gesturing. Alyssa shrugged and quickly headed for the door.

"Hurry up and say you're goodbyes. I don't like being kept waiting." And with that, the door slammed shut.

Ranar let out a groan of desperation. "She really is something isn't she? How do you even stand her?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I guess she just grew on me." This prompted a laugh from the other elf, which caused the knot in my stomach to tighten even more. _Gods, why does everything he does cause me such grief?_

"Yeah, I guess she'd have to." He said, getting up from the chair. He stopped in front of me, his warm breath flooding my face and causing mine to shorten. _Gods, why me?_ "Are you sure you're all right? I know if something like that happened to me, I'd lose my mind." He said.

"I-I'm fine, Ranar. Really. After all, it's not like I haven't had time to deal with these sorts of things. I managed through the death of my parents, I'll manage through this. Don't worry." I said, my voice quiet. But words didn't seem to work, as Ranar gently took his hand and placed it on my cheek. For a moment, my breath stopped.

"You don't need to manage alone. After all, you're not the only one who knows what it's like to lose your whole life." He said, his voice a whisper. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment, gold meeting green.

It was I who broke away. "I have to go. Alyssa's waiting for me." I said.

Ranar gave a short laugh. "Yeah, you probably need to go."

With a quickly nod, I turned and half-ran to the door, my breathing too fast for my liking.

"Mivryna!" called Ranar. I quickly turned to meet the Altmer, who shifted on his feet. I tilted my head as an indication that he could go on. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I meant to say this last night but forgot: when we were outside Cheydinhal, that night…" He struggled to find the words. "I'm sorry I kissed you. It was out of line." He said, and for moment I had to force my head from looking down at my chest, as a pain like no other bloomed right over my heart.

"It's-it's okay. Don't worry about it." I said. _Really. That's the _best_ response you can come up with_ my mind chastised and I quickly pushed the thought away, but Ranar's next words brought it back in full force.

"Oh." That was all he said. My lungs felt like they were going to collapse, for one, Ranar was looking at me like I just kicked him, prompting me to want to kick myself.

We stayed in the uncomfortable silence for a while, neither one of us knowing what to say. "I-I should go." I said, my voice empty.

"Y-yeah. You should." Ranar agreed, but it did not help the situation. I immediately headed for the door, but as I placed my hand on the knob, he stopped me.

"Mivryna." He said and something about his voice made me look back at him. When I did, I saw that his eyes held several conflicting emotions, most of which I couldn't discern.

"Yes?" I asked, my voice seeming oddly sophisticated.

Ranar ran his hand through his hair as he spoke. "No matter what happens, you're always welcome here. My door is open to you anytime." He said, kindness filling his voice. "Just… be safe."

I smiled, but it was hollow. "Sure. I'll remember that." I said. _I'm never going to be able to come to Solitude again._ "You be safe as well. And goodbye." With that, I pushed open the door to the early Skyrim morning, my heart twisting inside of me until it nearly broke.

Alyssa was waiting for me just across the street, leaning against the wall of the opposite house and her attention diverted to her nails until she saw me step out. "Ah, I was wondering when you were coming out. Took you long enough, didn't it?" she said, not noticing for one bit that my mind and heart were on different matters. _Why are you even making such a big fuss over this anyway?! It's not like you loved him!_ My mind argued. Quickly, I forced myself to be interested in the current conversation.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked, crossing the dead street to her (well it isn't like it's a huge mystery; hung over people typically don't get out of bed when the sun is just starting to rise. That is, if you're not Alyssa. If so, you're up even earlier than normal). At my question, the Breton-Nord promptly pulled out a sealed note that had been recently unsealed and tossed it at me. Instinctively I caught it, and a quick glance down made me realize that the parchment was _not_ your run-of-the-mill paper.

My head snapped up to meet the Breton thief standing in front of me, her eyes glinting mischievously and her infamous catlike grin stretching from ear to ear.

"How've you been since Saarthal, hmm?"

**Well, I hope you guys liked my new chapter! As you can already guess, we're going tomb raiding next chapter. Guess it's time to find out if I'm any good at those writing those kinds of things. Well, see you until then!**


	23. Chapter 23: A Scroll for Anska

**Well, I finally gotten around to posting chapter 23. This one actually took a lot longer than expected, mostly due to the fact that I had to keep looking up walkthroughs and other websites to gain a good insight to the tomb as well as direct dialogue (which I pride myself on going to extreme lengths to do). Like I said in my last chapter, this is my first time where I write about an actual tomb, so don't expect this to be as good as some of my other chapters. Honestly, I don't know whether I did good or bad, but since I don't see any other way of writing this, here you go. Luckily, though, this chapter is only a subplot and I can truthfully say that things will be getting back on track, as well as getting much more interesting, so be sure to keep an eye on your emails! On a final note, please review and PM me with any questions you might have. I'll be sure to answer it! Well, without further ado, here is chapter 23: A Scroll for Anska.**

"So, let me get this straight: you _don't_ like Ranar, yet you _do_ like him?" Alyssa asked, raising her eyebrows at me.

I let out a tired groan. Ever since we'd left Solitude, all Alyssa's wanted to talk about was Ranar and where I stood relationship wise, despite making it _very_ clear fifteen minutes ago that I wanted to end the conversation the moment it started. "I-I don't know. I mean, he's nice, but…" _Gods, why can't she just drop it?_

"But you do like him?" she asked.

I lifted my head to the sky, as if expecting the answers to be there. "Alyssa, I honestly don't know. When I get an answer, I'll tell you, but until then, can we please drop it?" I said, my nerves frayed from all the arguing.

Alyssa looked down, kicking a small stone that was in her path. It was then that a question of my own came to me.

"Hey, speaking of Ranar, what exactly was that little comment for?" I asked. When my friend faced me, I quickly remedied her confusion. "The comment that it was Nine instead of Eight. Last time I checked, you've never been one for religion."

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders as if this discussion was of little concern to her. "So? I believe in Talos. Lock me up; I'll just escape. Last time _I_ checked, I'm a pretty damn good thief."

I rolled my eyes. This conversation was not going where I wanted it to. "Look, I'm just saying that you've never really seemed to care about stuff like that. And besides, Ranar isn't the Thalmor; heck, he's nice to the both of us, and you're a human and we're both hybrids! Our parents broke more breeding laws that you could imagine when they had us!"

That managed to gain a laugh from my best friend. I smiled as we continued on in silence for a time. But soon an old thought crept back into my mind, insistent in its attempt to make me even more paranoid (if that's even possible). Eventually, the desire took over my mind and I quickly made a grab for Alyssa's travel bag. In a spilt second, I reached over and snatched the paper from where it rested at the top of the messy pile within, eliciting a cry of alarm from my red-haired friend.

"Oi! That's mine!" she said.

"Not anymore!" I replied as Alyssa ran towards me to reclaim the letter, but she was too slow. I quickly twisted my arms so that the note stayed out of her reach and after a few moments, she relented, though with a sour look on her face. Shade just continued to watch on amusedly from her place by my side.

Once sure I could read in peace, I quickly scanned over the note, mostly due to the fact that I had reread every word of the letter to the point of memorization.

_To our respectable investor,_

_It seems our expedition to High Gate Ruins has met with some resistance from its inhabitants. I know this isn't the first time, but if you would provide us with a few more men and supplies, we are certain the treasure there would yield a return on your investment._

_This time for sure._

_If not, we could begin searching for prospects outside of The Pale._

_A swift reply would be most appreciated._

As I neared the end, I felt eyes boring into my back and quickly looked back to see my friend.

"So, is there a reason why you can't take your eyes off this thing?" she asked, standing on her tiptoes to see over my shoulder (it didn't help; I'm a good head taller than her).

I sighed. "I really don't want to talk about it." I said, hating the fact that my traveling partner was so darn nosy.

"Please," Alyssa pleaded, putting on her best pouting face. "If you tell me, I'll drop the Ranar subject for the rest of the trip."

I paused in forming my response at the tempting offer. After a quick debate, I took a deep breath before saying, "Fine. I've been to High Gate Ruins before, during my time with the Shadows."

Alyssa's eyes immediately gave away her worry. "Wait, so there's nothing there? Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, shocked. I held my hands up in surrender.

"Hey! I didn't say that!" I said as Alyssa put her hands on her hips, motioning for an explanation. I sighed inwardly. _Is there any part of my life that I can keep a secret?_

"Look, when my skills started to improve, Linwe sent me out on a number of missions. One of them was to scout High Gate Ruins; according to legend, there was a powerful Dragon Priest there and Linwe wanted his mask." I said as I watched Alyssa's eyes light up. I finished before she could interrupt. "Fortunately, your Guild came and wiped us out before we could actually send someone to try and retrieve it. But still, the whole memory of the tomb isn't exactly sitting well with me."

"Well, you better get a hold of yourself pretty quick 'cause there it is." The thief said, her head towards the horizon. And sure enough, just over the hill we'd cross was the towering Nord tomb. The memories of trying to avoid all the traps and draugr sent chills up my spine. Next to me, Shade whined.

"Well, let's get this over with." I said and as the three of us proceeded up to its massive stone doors, I couldn't help but hope that things weren't going to be as bad as they seemed.

* * *

The moment we entered, our ears were assaulted by the sound of draugr yelling and magic whistling through the air. With a quick glance at Alyssa, the two of us raced ahead to find the cause of the commotion. Just as we turned the corner into the next room, we caught sight of a Nord woman in fur armor with brown hair streaked with gray cast a quick Lightning Bolt spell, killing the draugr that had almost closed the gap between them. As we had forgotten to be subtle in our approach, the woman turned and caught sight of us. We quickly readied ourselves for combat, and I was just about to start up Firebolt when she stopped me. "No, please, don't! I don't want any trouble! Honest!"

Realizing that ordinary bandits wouldn't be smart enough to think of such a plan, I lowered my hands, extinguishing the magic there, but still remained on edge. A glance to my left and right confirmed that Alyssa and Shade had followed my lead.

"Who are you?" I asked as I slowly approached the woman. Seeing that I wasn't about to harm her, she relaxed and let a warm smile come to her face. _Well, aren't you trusting. Especially since we could've been bandits._

"I'm Anska. Are you here to help?" she asked, her Nord accent thick.

"Help with what?" I asked. _Does she honestly think that I know what she's talking about?_

"I've finally located Vokun's crypt! The scroll I'm looking for just has to be here. Maybe you could help find it, I just know it's in here." She said, her voice full of excitement, while my mind was filled with questions.

"Vokun?" I asked, wondering if I had heard that name from an old book during my time in Winterhold.

"Some old priest buried here long ago. I've been searching for his tomb for a few years now." She said distractedly; obvious she didn't care much about him.

"What scroll?" I kept up the questions, wondering just how much she was willing to tell me.

She fidgeted a little but still answered. "It's probably meaningless to you, but according to family legend it links our bloodline back to Ysgramor himself." She said, making herself giddy.

"Ysgramor?!" Alyssa said, surprised. Her eyes widened further when Anska nodded and I made a quick mental note to get the Breton-Nord thief to brush me up on Skyrim's lore at a later date.

I finally decided to ask the obvious question. "What kind of help do you need?"

"If Vokun is as powerful as I think, I may need a little help um… dealing …with him." She hesitantly explained.

Before I could continue, Alyssa opened her mouth. "What's in it for us?" she said and for a moment I thought the woman might have turned us down because of our greed.

"You can have anything except the scroll of course." She said, her voice still cheerful. _Nothing brings her down, does it?_

"We'll help." I said, beating Alyssa to it. Upon my reply, I thought the woman might burst at how happy she was.

"Great, with the three of us this should be easy." She said, and with that she quickly ran on ahead, leaving us to hurry to catch up with her.

When she had left, I glanced over at Alyssa, only to find her waist deep in the nearest urn. Shade gave a laughing bark as I walked over and pulled the Breton out by her belt. Her cry of alarm quickly turned into one of annoyance when she realized that it was just me.

"What was that for?" she asked indignantly, her hands on her hips as she glared at me.

I sighed and pointed further into the tomb. "She's already going on ahead. We'd better catch up before she gets herself killed." I said tiredly. _Like the last thing I want is to escort her through this death filled place._

Alyssa groaned. "Well she's impatient, isn't she?" she said, her normally slightly high-pitched voice making her sound a little arrogant. "C'mon," was all I said as I headed off in her direction.

And sure to my name, when we caught up to Anska, she was already in over her head in draugr. Shade and I quickly sprang into action, my fire magic managing to fell the undead easily while my young wolf quickly teamed up with Alyssa in melee combat with the guardians of the tomb (probably for the best; after all, illusionists tend not to do well in these types of situations) and together we managed to clear the room.

As soon as that was done, the four of us were quickly on our way, steadily making progress as we went from room to room. At first, I thought our progress was rather quick, the traps easy, but that soon faded when we passed the point where my memories of the place could no longer guide us. It was then that our pace seemed to stall and traps and draugr seem to come out of nowhere, but I knew from past tombs that such a worry was usually misplaced (unless you're traveling in Labyrinthian, but in my defense, how was I to know I was going through the wrong tomb?).

Luckily though, we easily fell into different roles that allowed us to press further into the tomb than what most explorers would have. Though she always needed someone to fight with her, Alyssa more than made up for that as she easily detected and undid all the traps, as well as unlocking every door as quickly as it took to breathe, though we did run into trouble each time the thief decided go and clean out every urn, shelf, and chest in sight (which ended up becoming a competition between the two of us, though I think the she ended up winning.)

At first I thought she would prove to be a burden, but Anska surprised me by revealing herself to be a powerful mage and the draugr proved no match as we cast our spells in synch with one another, fire and lighting undoing the undead before they even got to us. What made us even more deadly, though, was Shade, who led us to each room, her natural talents uncovering just what kind of dangers laid ahead as she relayed her discoveries by lightly tapping her foot on the floor.

Soon after going through a few rooms and just managing to find a use for our skills, we came upon a large room, the center of which led down deeper by use of some old wooden stairs, though gated up now. _And guess who has to find out how to open it…_

"This looks like some sort of lever puzzle. We'll have to figure out the correct order to flip them." Said Anska as we surveyed the room.

Off to the side bringing her head back out of an urn, Alyssa groaned. "Great. I hate puzzles." She said. Quickly a smile rose to her lips as she looked at me. "But Mivryna doesn't. Any ideas?" She said as I fixed her with a glare. But I quickly turned my attention to the room. It was a simple layout; four switches lay in the room, each with an animal carved into them. I immediately recognized the puzzle and was glad for its simplicity. It didn't take long for me to find the answer (the idiots who built the place wrote it up on the dang ceiling!) and after pressing the correct levers, we were on our way.

We carefully made our way through the tomb, passing through crypts full of draugr and traps ranging to spikes coming out of a wall when you open the chest in front of it (I barely had time to pull Alyssa away from that) to a small dais that awakens several draugr when its soul gem is taken (Alyssa, I don't care if you'd have given me the stupid magic rock; that draugr had a battleaxe the size of _me_!). Eventually, though, we finally got past most of what the place had to offer (after a small comment from Anska at how ancient the stone carvings on the walls were as we passed through a large trapped-filled hallway).

Normally, Nord tombs like this have large puzzle doors that signify the main chamber, so it was a huge surprise for me when I threw open the doors and saw the sarcophagus at the far end of the room burst open. The undead Dragon Priest that rose of his sleep looked very much like the one I encountered in Labyrinthian, though his mask was stone gray instead of the other's light blue.

"That's Vokun, the guardian of the scroll. It must be just past him." Said Anska and for a moment I wanted to berate her on how obvious that information was. But now was not the time as the Priest had just spotted us and quickly used his staff to throw a huge Fireball at us, sending everyone running in opposite directions. Seeing that numbers were against him, Vokun quickly cast a Storm Atronach to aid him. As he wasn't the only person skilled in Conjugation and seeing that we needed all the help we could get, I summoned my own Flame Atronach while Anska followed my lead with a Frost one.

Despite that we had overwhelming numbers on our side, it became apparent that the leader of the undead knew how to handle himself in combat, while our team consisted of a illusionist thief, a wolf, and two mages who were not as skilled as they would like to be. So basically as Alyssa went and hid herself in a corner, Shade, Anska, and I quickly ran at the Dragon Priest from all sides as our Atronachs engaged each other.

Shade reached the Priest first and barely managed to dodge the Lightning Bolt that came her way. With little effort, she jumped up on the sarcophagus and leaped back off as Vokun sent spell after spell in her direction. Making use of the distraction, I quickly sent a Firebolt at the Priest, but a quick ward put a stop to that. _Dang it! Why do Dragon Priests have to be so skilled at magic?_ I cursed as I myself dodged a few of his incoming attacks.

I rolled behind a pillar as a Lightning Bolt threatened to tear me in half, my breathing becoming ragged from earlier encounters. _This battle will take too long and I'm not used to fighting for long periods. We need to end this quick or else we're all through!_ My mind thought frantically for a way out of this mess, but could think of none. I was jerked out of my thoughts by an odd sound coming from the battle I was currently hiding from. Quietly I edged around the pillar and was just in time to see Vokun send a Fireball at Anska. I relaxed a fraction when I saw that it had missed its mark but it was short-lived as the spell landed against the nearby wall, exploding, and sending the Nord mage sprawling to the ground. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Vokun charged up a Lightning Bolt, aiming directly for the defenseless Nord. A quick glance around showed that Shade would not be able to reach them in time and so it was up to me.

Without hesitating, I charged and quickly cast my own Fireball, ignoring the heavy strain the advanced spell did on my magicka, and watched as it hit Vokun square in the back of the head. Fatally wounded, the legendary Dragon Priest gave a shriek as he died, his body turning to ash and the staff and mask falling to the floor with a loud metal clank.

The moment he was dead, I quickly sprinted toward Anska, who was still on the ground. As I neared her, she enveloped herself in a pale yellow light, so that when I reached her, the only alarming feature was the large blood splatter on her armor.

"Are you alright?" I asked, not knowing her full healing capabilities.

Anska nodded as she turned to the remains of Vokun. "Good riddance. Let's move on, the scroll must be in the next room." She said. I nodded my assent and headed over to grab the mask, only to find it was gone. I stared in astonishment for a moment before remembering someone, and I quickly turned a full circle before realizing that Alyssa had already gone on to the next room. _Clever little thief…_

With only a quick glance to make sure Anska was well and standing, I raced into the next room, stopping just past the door to take a quick look at the room, which mostly just consisted of a ancient stone table and a huge semicircular stone monument, which was what the red-haired Breton happened to be staring at. "Alyssa!" I called, cupping my hands so she could hear me. She seemed to have just come out of a trance, the way she jerked when she heard my voice. She immediately recovered, though, as she turned around and replied, "Well, it sure took you all long enough!" I couldn't help but grin.

"There it is! On the table." Exclaimed Anska as she entered the room, but I ignored her. I lightly jumped down from the level above as Alyssa crossed the room to where a large chest resided. _You better save some of that for me…_ I thought as I walked up to the table and picked up the scroll, careful not to rip it. When I turned around, Anska was already behind me, her face beaming.

"I've retrieved the scroll." I said, wondering for the entire world why I decided to sound so formal. Luckily, the Nord didn't mind.

"I cannot thank you enough for all of the help." She said, her voice filled with relief.

"Here is the scroll." I said, handing it out to her. She gently took it as if I were giving her a baby.

She smiled up at me. "And here's a little something for helping me out." She said, handing me a spell tome that I instantly recognized as coming from the Conjugation School. Too excited to wait, I opened the tome and quickly read through its contents, learning that it taught a rare spell that could conjure a 'Flaming Familiar.' _Whatever it is, I'm sure I could put it to good use._ As soon as I finished reading and the knowledge had become permanently fixed in my mind, the magic that held the words to the pages quickly overpowered the simple parchment, burning the tome into nothingness.

I looked up to see that Anksa was still staring at me and I had to ask. "So what does it say?" I asked, wanting to know if all of this had been worth it. In the far corner, Alyssa stopped her digging around just long enough to hear the answer.

"Let me look. This is a very exciting moment for me." She said and quickly undid the seal. As she started to read, her brow furrowed. "Hmm, it's encrypted. It'll take a while to figure this out."

"When will you know?" I asked, doing my best not to let my emotions cloud my voice.

"I don't know. Perhaps I can gain a few clues from what my ancestors left behind, but it'll take a while." She said, gazing around at the stonework. Behind her, Alyssa let the chest fall heavily back on itself, her signal that it was time to leave. I sighed.

"Well, I hope you found what you were looking for, but I'm afraid that this is where we go our separate ways." I said, giving Anska a smile, which she quickly returned.

"Of course. You probably have all sorts of adventures waiting out there for you. As for me, I'm going to stay a little while longer. I wish you both the best of luck." She said as she clapped a hand on my arm. I returned the gesture.

"You too." I replied as I followed Alyssa out of the tomb via the shortcut, Shade right behind me. Once out into the freezing air, I stopped as my two companions headed down the steps and back toward the frozen marshes that we'd came from, my mind on many thoughts.

"Hey, Mivryna, you coming or you just going to freeze to death?" asked Alyssa impatiently but I ignored her. Instead, I looked up to the skies, watching a few birds fly past onto Solitude, where it would be warmer.

_Today I helped a woman uncover many questions that she had about herself. _I thought. _But why, then, is it so hard for me to do the same?_


End file.
